weeXpc online manual



Archived 2012-10-10:
This product is not sold or supported by hermocom anymore and this article may be outdated.



The weeXpc by hermocom - Manual

This is the manual version 1.8.1.2 for weeXpc version 1.8 and version 1.7.

The most recent version of this manual can always be viewed (in HTML format) under
http://www.hermocom.com/archive/21-weexpcmanual

As a reference, this manual (maybe an older version) is available in the weeXpc's Documents folder ("Notecase" subfolder). You can view it using the menu item "weeXpc Manual" in the "Other" category of the weeXpc's X menu (start menu).

This manual has been created with the Notecase Pro outliner on the weeXpc, on Microsoft Windows and on an Apple Macintosh.
Click here to download this manual as an NCD file (Notecase document).


Table of contents

1. Introduction
No big words in advance. You want to work with the weeXpc, you probably don't want to read a lot of manuals before.
All we ask you before booting the weeXpc the first time is to read the "Getting started" and "What you should know before working with the weeXpc" chapters.
The remaining chapters can be used as a reference while working with the weeXpc.
2. About the term "weeXpc"
weeXpc stands for wee X PC, i.e. a tiny X-based (associate Linux or X11) Personal Computer.

Although the product name "weeXpc" actually means only the software setup, the term "weeXpc" is used here as a synonym for the entire Zaurus with the weeXpc setup.
This is to keep the wording of the manual simpler.
3. Getting started
This chapter guides you through the first steps of installing, booting, configuring and using the weeXpc individually.
hermocom has done a lot of configuring of the applications for you in advance.
However, there are some steps we cannot do for you, because they are too individual.
3.1. Box contents
If you purchased just the weeXpc software on DVD, there is no box.

If you purchased a complete weeXpc package including a Sharp Zaurus PDA, the box will contain the following items:
3.1.1. Sharp Zaurus PDA with accessories
The Zaurus box will contain the Zaurus with its standard accessories:
- Battery
- USB host cale
- USB client cable
- 3 original Zaurus CD-ROMs (you will only need No 1 of them, because it contains a Windows driver which is also releant to the weeXpc)

Please note that you will not need the software on the CD-ROMs which are labeled "SHARP CD-ROM for Zaurus..." for the usage of weeXpc. These CD-ROMs contain software for the SHARP ROM, which has been replaced by the weeXpc ROM. These two systems are incompatible.
Only CD-ROM no 1 contains a Windows driver which you may also need for the weeXpc, if you connect the weeXpc via USB to a PC and want them to be connected via an USB network connection. This is described in detail later in this manual.
3.1.2. weeXpc software preloaded
The actual weeXpc system is preloaded on the Zaurus.
3.1.3. weeXpc Recovery DVD
Additionally, we deliver a recovery DVD-ROM, in case you need to revert your weeXpc system to the original state.
This DVD-ROM also contains the source code of the software parts licensed under GPL.
3.1.4. For SL-C1000: weeXpc SD card
If you purchased weeXpc with a Zaurus SL-C1000, you also got an SD card which is an essential part of the weeXpc system on an SL-C1000.
The SL-C1000 does not have an internal hard disk, so the SD card is needed to store user data, application data and Windows applications.
3.1.5. Optional accessories
Optionally you can order some accessories for the weeXpc. Please check the hermocom website or Pulster online store for availability and prices:

- Compact flash card for backups and for the recovery process (if you need to install weeXpc yourself, you need such a card!)
- SD card (needed for weeXpc usage on a Sharp zaurus SL-C1000)
- Additional battery
- External battery charger
- Car adapter
- Additional AC adapter
- WLAN CF card (802.11b standard)
- Bluetooth CF card
- USB cables

etc.
3.2. Sharp Zaurus basics
If you are not yet familiar with the Zaurus hardware, please be sure to read the manual which came with your SHARP Zaurus before you begin.
However, this manual contains some software-specific parts, which are not valid for the weeXpc. So you can omit them and concentrate on the hardware-specific parts of that manual such as how to handle the battery, charging, the swivelable screen, how to connect ear phones or a headset, how to handle the card slots and so on.

In case you don't have a Zaurus manual, lost it or don't understand its language, here are some online ressources:

English: Trisoft Startupguide (PDF) (http://www.trisoft.de/pdf/c3000qse.pdf)

German: Trisoft Startup-Anleitung (PDF) (http://www.trisoft.de/pdf/c3000qs.pdf)

English: Figlabs Zaurus user guide (HTML) (http://www.figlabs.com/catalog/ug.php)

You can order a printed Zaurus manual from the Pulster online shop (http://www.pulster.de/).
3.3. Insert battery
The Zaurus manual (see above) describes how to handle the battery and its compartment cover and switch.
It is recommended to recharge the battery before first usage until the orange charging LED switches off.
3.4. Install weeXpc software
If you purchased a weeXpc package including a Sharp Zaurus PDA from hermocom, weeXpc is preinstalled and you don't have to do anything to install the software on the Zaurus.

If you purchased weeXpc without a Zaurus and now want to install weeXpc on your Zaurus, you will need to install the weeXpc software from the weeXpc "Recovery DVD".
The "Recovery DVD" of weeXpc contains all files needed for the installation procedure.

Additionally, you need for weeXpc installation:

- Installation on a Zaurus SL-C3100 or SL-C3200:
a Compact Flash card of at least 2GB.

- Installation on a Zaurus SL-C1000:
a Compact Flash card of at least 1GB,
an SD card (not SDHC!) of 2GB or more. Please note that most SD cards of 4GB and more are SDHC cards. These cards cannot be used with weeXpc.

The installation procedure is explained in detail in the README.TXT file on the Recovery DVD. Please read that file carefully before you begin. It is important to follow the steps exactly, otherwise your Zaurus may become unfunctional and must be serviced by hermocom.
3.5. Start the weeXpc for the first time
After inserting the battery, Press the "On/Off" button gently but firmly for about one second (i.e. not just "click" but really press) to switch the unit on
(This is the same kind of pressing you should always use when switching on the weeXpc).
After a few seconds, the screen will be lit and Linux will begin to boot.
3.6. Calibrate touchscreen
At the end of the boot process, you may be prompted to calibrate the touchscreen.
Tap the crosshairs of this calibration screen as accurately as possible.
It is possible to recalibrate the touchscreen later, if the first attempt was not satisfactory, or if our pre-calibration does not fit your needs.

After calibration, the graphical user interface (abbreviated "GUI") is started.
3.7. Using the touchscreen
The touchscreen is used to emulate a mouse.
It is recommended to apply a screen protection foil to the screen in order to avoid scratches.
We recommend the "Brando Ultra Clear" ( http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=brando+ultra+clear+for+zaurus ) screen protectors.

Please use only the stylus to operate the touchscreen, don't use a normal pen!
In rare cases it may be convenient to use the fingers for touchscreen operation. This is not recommended, but when a screen protector is applied, it can be done without danger of damaging the screen surface.

A single tap with the stylus on the touchscreen is like a click with the left mouse button.
Press and hold Fn and tap on the screen to emulate a right mouse button click.
Press and hold Shift and tapon the screen to emulate a middle mouse button click.

For most operations, only a single tap is needed. If you are unsure, try a single tap first, then use a double tap if the single tap did not work as expected.
When still trying, please be patient. weeXpc sometimes needs a few seconds to start an application or to perform other actions.
It needs a bit of experience to get the right feeling for the taps and double-taps to work reliably.

Please note that the so-called silkscreen keys (the application "keys" on the right of the screen with symbols for calendar, book, mail etc.) are not supported by the weeXpc and hence they are unfunctional.

In order to start applications, tap with the stylus shortly onto the yellow "X" in the lower right corner. This will open the so-called X menu which contains all weeXpc applications.
3.8. Using the keyboard
The keyboard is quite similar to a standard US PC keyboard.
The mapping of keys to special characters is optimized to fit the needs of as many users as possible.
However, the mapping can be modified if needed.

For more information, also for learning the complete keyboard mapping which is appended there as a HTML table, please refer to the corresponding section further on in the weeXpc manual.

Here we describe the most important key mappings:

The blue key functions, which are printed above the keys, are used when pressing and holding the blue "Fn" key. However, some special Japanese functions are not used, e.g. Fn-6 to Fn-0.

There is no "Alt" labeled key on the keyboard. However, the Japanese (Kanji) key directly besides the Ctrl key acts as the Alt key.
The second Japanese labeled key, left besides the dash, is the backquote (`)

F keys (from F1 to F10) are emulated by pressing Shift-Fn-Number.
E.g. F5 is emulated by Shift-Fn-5.

The keyboard is configured to easily produce the most commonly used characters for US English input.
There are also language-specific characters available on the weeXpc, most of which are available using the Fn-key together with a standard character key.
E.g. the German Umlauts are on Fn-a, Fn-o, Fn-u, Fn-s.

The Euro symbol (€) is produced with Shift-Fn-E

Especially for progrmming, but also for other purposes you might need the various brackets:

( and ): Shift-8 and Shift-9 (as labeled)
{ and }: Fn-n and Fn-m
: Fn-, and Fn-. (as labeled)
[ and ]: Fn-t and Fn-y

The At-sign (@) is found on Fn-dash (Fn--) as labeled.

The Insert key is emulated by Shift-Fn-Backspace (think of it as Shift-Del).
The Insert key is usually used for switching between insert and overwrite mode in applications.

Some keys allow to control the behavior of the weeXpc:

Fn-1 and Fn-2 switch between two screen resolutions (640x480 VGA which is the default, and 320x240 QVGA).
It is not recommended, nor supported by hermocom, to use the QVGA resolution, though.
Fn-3 and Fn-4 control the backlight brightness.

The "Menu" key always opens the X Menu. Please read on to learn more about the X menu.

The "Cancel" key with the cross label is identical to what "Esc" is on a PC.

The "OK" key in the middle of the arrow keypad is the same as "Enter".

The application keys labeled "Calendar", "Address" etc. open weeXpc programs:

Calendar: KO/PI
Address: KA/PI
Mail: Sylpheed
Home: Notecase
Menu opens the X menu.

When pressing an application key, be a bit patient until you get a response from the system. Don't press it many times while waiting for reaction. This won't increase the speed, but decrease it because the weeXpc will try to start multiple instances of the same application. However, this won't happen due to a weeXpc-specific mechanism which prevents most applications to be started in more than one instance.
3.9. Establishing an Internet connection (optional)
There are a lot of ways to connect the weeXpc to the Internet.
So here, in the getting started section, we describe only the most commonly used and simplest way: Wireless LAN.

It is not necessary to establish an Internet connection for using weeXpc, so you may omit this section.

From the X menu, choose "System Tools" / "Lan & Wifi".
In the next configutaion dialogs, you can use the "default" scheme or define your own new scheme, then enter the usual data such as IP address, DNS, Gateway (or let that data be assigned automatically) and - mandatory - enter the WLAN network parameters, such as SSID and WEP encryption key.
WPA encryption is not supported by weeXpc.

After entering all information, save the settings, insert the WLAN CF card and the Internet connection will be established.
The WLAN symbol in the applet bar will turn from grey to green or to another color depending on the signal strength of the configured WLAN.
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3.10. Set time and date
After the first start, the build-in clock has to be adjusted. This is necessary for several features of the weeXpc to work correctly.
This can be done either manually or over the Internet.
In the latter case, the weeXpc connects to an Internet time server and synchronizes its own time to the time of that time server.
This is a very convenient and accurate way. However, it only works when there is an Internet connection.

In the X menu (the yellow X in the bottom right corner), you find "System Tools" / "Date & Time". Tap this once with the stylus.

Confirm with "YES", then, in the next dialog, choose the correct time zone. In the next dialog choose "No" for manual time configuration, if you don't have an active Internet connection.
Otherwise, choose "Yes".
If you chose the Internet time setting, everything will be done automatically from here and the weeXpc will reboot.
If you chose the manual time setting, in the next dialog you can choose the current time and date. If you confirm with "OK", the weeXpc is rebooted and should be set to the correct new time after the reboot.

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3.11. Personalize
3.11.1. KDEPIM/PI Global Settings
Please start the address book application "KA/PI", either from the X menu / "Office" or by hitting the application button "Address" on the keyboard. Starting will take some seconds.
KA/PI is part of the KDEPIM/PI program suite, which contains this address book, a calendar / todo management application, a password management application and an email client.

In KA/PI, choose from the menu "Settings" / "Global Settings".
This configures the basic settings for all KDEPIM/PI applications.
You can change all settings there to your needs. Please only let "Data storage path" and "Backup" settings untouched, because we have preconfigured these settings to integrate KDEPIM/PI well with other weeXpc components and paradigms.

Important settings you should adjust:
- Language
- Time Format
- Date Format
- Time Zone (this setting is not synchronized with the time zone you set via "Date & Time", so you should set both to the correct value)

Optional settings you can adjust if you like:
- Application font (reocmmended is Arial 14 or Arial 16. If you set a font larger than Arial 16, dome dialogs will be too large for the screen)

All other settings should be left untouched for now. If needed, they can be changed later.
3.11.2. Set "Who am I"
Create a new record in the address book which holds your own contact data. Then, when that entry is marked, choose "Settings" / "Set Who am I"
This will let the KDEPIM/PI applications let use your data for various things, e.g. as the email sender in OM/PI, the KDEPIM/PI email client.

In order to create a new record in KA/PI, use this icon, which is located on the left under the "File" menu:

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After adding contacts to tht address book, please save the address book using Menu "File" / "Save" or closing KA/PI and confirming the saving of changes.
4. What you should know before working with the weeXpc
4.1. You are root!
On the weeXpc, you are logged in as the user "root". This login happens automatically, you don't have anything to do with it.
However, to be logged in as root means, that you should be careful. It is the administrator login in Linux.
You need to be just as careful as under older Windows or DOS environments, because the system permits you to modify everything.
You are allowed by the system to delete even the most important system files etc.

This is only meant as a warning. When working normally with the weeXpc, you will most probably not come across any of these dangerous situations.
But please keep this in mind when experimenting and exploring the system.
4.2. About the file system
The following is a bit technical, but we recommend that you read it anyway.
It will give you a short overview over the file system of the weeXpc so you know where to find what, and where to put what when saving documents.

Usually, when saving a document, you can save it in the directory structure under ~/Documents.
~ is the abbreviation for your home directory, which is actually /home/root.
So the default path for the documents you work with can be entered either as

~/Documents
or
/home/root/Documents

This is the most important directory you should know.

Since /home/root is a directory in the internal flash, and the space of the internal flash is very limited, "Documents" is actually a link to another directory, called /mnt/ide3/Documents (on hard disk featured Zaurus models SL-C3x00) or /mnt/card/Documents (which is the SD card, used only on SL-C1000).

Linux allows to link files and directories to other locations.
But this is only background information.
Please always use the path /home/root/Documents when referencing your documents folder.

Under Documents, there are several subdirectories where you can put your files into.
You can of course delete some which you don't need, or create new ones.
Most file save dialogs allow to go directly to the Documents directory and to create new subdirectories.
Just as you may know it from Windows or other operating systems.
4.2.1. Devices in the file system
In Linux, there are no drive letters as in Windows.
File systems of storage devices are "mounted" into the (one) file system of the machine.
In Linux, file systems are hierarchical, just as in Windows or most other operating systems.

The so-called root file system is located on the internal flash memory of the weeXpc.
Flash memory is a solid-state memory which is used similar to a hard disk, but has no mechanical parts.
Technically, it works similar as a CF or SD card, but is faster.

Additional devices are mounted into the root directory structure; more precisely into the /mnt directory.
That means, if you plug an SD card into a Windows computer, it may become drive D: or E: or X:.
If you plug the same card into a Linux computer, such as the weeXpc, it becomes available as a directory under
/mnt.
On the weeXpc, the SD card is mounted to /mnt/card.

/mnt/card is called a "mount point", because the SD card is mounted into this point in the directory structure.

So, the file D:\textfiles\MyText.doc which you created on an SD card under Windows is accessable under Linux as
/mnt/card/textfiles/MyText.doc.

The following mount points are used on the weeXpc:

Internal Flash memory:   /
SD card:            /mnt/card
CF card:            /mnt/cf
USB storage:         /mnt/usbstorage

The weeXpc 3200 (Zaurus model SL-C3200) additionally has a hard disk built-in which is 6GB in size.
It is divided into three partitions:

Partition 1:          128MB Swap space, not available for file storage. Swap is an extension to system RAM.
Partition 2:          /mnt/ide2
Partition 3:          /mnt/ide3

Please note that SD or CF cards as well as USB storage devices with multiple partitions are not supported.
Most of such devices only have one partition, which is handled correctly by the weeXpc.
If you insert a card or USB hard disk / stick with more than one partition, only the first partition is mounted.
You can, however, mount more partitions manually using the mount command on the console.
4.2.2. Directory structure information
This section describes the purposes of the various storage devices and mount points:

/ is the root file system. It holds the operating system files and most of the installed applications.

/mnt/ide2 (only on Zaurus SL-C3x00) is used as an extension to the root file system. Additional software packages are installed here. Also, it holds larger amounts of read-only application data, e.g. the dictionary files for ZBedic, which are several 100 MB in size.
On the weeXpc for Zaurus SL-C1000, which does not have the hard disk, the SD card is used for application data and additional software packages instead. The SD card has the disadvantge that it is much slower and that it is prone to data corruption or data loss if handled incorrectly. See "Important rules" in the section CF and SD cards below.

/mnt/ide3 (only on Zaurus SL-C3x00) holds your Documents directory, the weeXpc portable Windows applications and it is meant for data exchange with other computers, because it is available when the weeXpc is connected to another computer via USB as an USB storage client. It is prepared to hold multimedia data, such as MP3 or photos, but may as well hold any other kind of data.
On the weeXpc for Zaurus SL-C1000, which does not have the hard disk, there is no equivalent. The SD card can be used instead, but it has a much smaller size and is slower.

/home/root: This is the "home" directory of user "root", i.e. of you. It mainly holds user-specific settings. For your documents, it contains the directory "Documents". This one is linked to the hard drive (ide3, see above). So you reach your documents via "Documents" in your home, but they actually reside on /mnt/ide3/Documents, making it easy to share them with your PC and allowing for a large amount of data, only limited by the available space on the hard drive.

/mnt/card: The SD card. On a Zaurus SL-C3x00 it can be used for backups or for data exchange with other computers. On a Zaurus SL-C1000, the SD card slot is occupied permanently by the weeXpc SD card, so it should not be used for data exchange with other computers.
The directories for application data, Documents and portable Windows applications mentioned above, are located on the SD card in an SL-C1000.

/mnt/cf: The CF card. It can be used for backups or for data exchange with other computers. Also, a CF card is needed for the weeXpc recovery process (see later in this manual).
If a communications card (WLAN, Ethernet, Bluetooth, modem, GPS, serial...) is inserted, that card is not mounted as /mnt/cf, because only storage media can be mounted. Instead, such cards are used via "devices". E.g. a WLAN card would be used as network device "wlan0", or a modem card would be used as /dev/ttyS0.
4.2.3. The weeXpc SD card for Zaurus SL-C1000
If you have a Zaurus SL-C3x00, you can omit this section.

Since the SL-C1000 does not have an internal hard drive, weeXpc files which do not fit into the internal flash memory must be stored on an external medium.
A CF card would be an option, but the CF slot is needed for communication cards (network, modem, bluetooth).
So an SD card is used for storage of user data, portable Windows applications and Application data, as well as for installing additional software packages.
These purposes make the card necessary for basic system operation, and hence the SD card must not be removed from the Zaurus while any application is running.

The file system on the SD card is ext2, a Unix-specific file system, which is not compatible with Windows.
The reason for that decision is data safety.
Tests with a FAT file system on the SD card (FAT would directly be usable with a Windows PC) showed that the file system is extremely prone to data loss, if the card is not handled entirely correctly (i.e. not inserted firmly enough so that it pops out of the slot when releasing the finger, or when removing or inserting the card during the weeXpc is switched off etc.)
Because users are humans and make errors, the risk for data loss was too high, so hermocom decided to use the ext2 file system on the card, which is much more robust.

You can, however, also use the ext2 file system directly with Windows, if you install the ext2 IFS driver under Windows. It is available here:
http://www.fs-driver.org/

Using this driver, it is possible to put the card into the card slot of a Windows computer, or to use the weeXpc in USB storage client more, so it exposes the SD card contents to the USB-connected Windows PC.
See later in this manual.

But even with the more robust file system there are rules: It is very important that the card is only removed when it is not in use, i.e. when all programs using files from the card are closed, and when the card has been "ejected" using the card applet.
4.3. Prevent data loss!
Especially while you are not familiar yet with the weeXpc and while handling errors are still probable, please do not forget to save the files you are working on! The more frequently you save, the less trouble you will have in case of lost data due to handling errors.

Important: Always eject an SD card in software first, before you eject it physically. The cards applet in the panel makes that easy. If you tend to forget that, you may use a small sticker near the SD slot to remind you of that.
Forgetting that only once may already damage your SD card data.

Also, be careful that the SD card is not ejected accidentally, which can happen if you either grab the Zaurus and press with a finger onto the inserted SD card, or when you insert the SD card but don't press forceful enough. Then it may flip out of the slot again, but it has had contact for a short time and the mount process was already started. If that happened, your data may be lost already.
This is one of the reasons why hermocom choose to use ext2 as the file system for the weeXpc SD card on SL-C1000.

Don't insert or eject an SD card when the Zaurus is switched off! Only when it is switched on. Inserting a card is always possible. Ejecting only after using the card applet to "software-eject" the card first.

In order not to prevent data loss, but to be able to recover as many data as possible after a data loss, it is strongly recommended to make frequent backups of your data.
It is recommended to make a backup at least once a week. Power users may consider creating Documents backups every day.
More about backups to be read in the Maintenance section below.
4.4. The graphical user interface (Window manager)
Open applications usually have a window in which they operate. Just as you know it from Microsoft Windows or other common desktop user interfaces.
The so-called "Window manager" is responsible for arranging windows on the screen.
weeXpc uses "Openbox" as the Windowmanager and several "Matchbox" components as window manager tools.
Since the weeXpc has a very small screen, it is not applicable to have many windows open and visible at the same time.
So you will need to switch between the windows of open applications.
However, if you put the window of an aplication into the background by raising another window to the foreground or by minimizing it, the application is not terminated nor halted. It continues to run.
So you can bring it to the foregound whenever you want and continue work with that application without the need of restarting it, reloading files etc.
4.4.1. Program startup / wasc
When you start a weeXpc program, "wasc", the "weeXpc applicatoin startup control", controls the startup process. It shows you an hourglass window for the time you have to wait for the application to start, and it partially controls the Window manager for your convenience.

Here is a little exercise:

Please hit the "Calendar" application key on the keyboard, the KO/PI calendar program will start after a few seconds. wasc shows you an hourglass with a progress bar which shows the estimated progress of program start. Wait for KO/PI to be started.

Now, press the "Address" key. The same procedure is done for the address book application.

Now, choose from the X menu / "Office" the program "Abiword". Same procedure here.

You have now three open programs and you only see the Abiword window. The other two windows are hidden in background.

Press the Calendar button once more. Instead of starting a new calendar, wasc puts the already open calendar into the foreground, hiding the other windows.
Now, press the Address button. Same here, KA/PI is brought to the foreground.

But also the other applications, which are not available via the application keys, are treated that way: Choose Abiword again from the menu. The Abiword window is put to front, no new instance of Abiword is started.

---

You see that wasc prevents execution of several instances of an application. instead, it presents you the already opened instance.
This is for your convenience, because for many applications it doesn't make sense to have more than one instance open. For applications using one specific data file it can even be dangerous. If the calendar would be started twice, both instances with the same data file opened, you could lose data due to two instances of the calendar accessing the same file. So this is also a data safety solution.

In case you might need the ability to start several instances of an application, this can be done by configuring wasc.
Please refer to the Maintenance section in order to learn about that.
4.4.2. Switching between open applications
4.4.2.1. Re-launching the program
As you saw in the exercise above, you can simply launch most programs once more in order to switch to the already open window of that application. But there are more ways to switch between open applications:
4.4.2.2. Alt-Tab
Use the Alt-Tab key combination (hold Alt and press Tab) to cycle through all open windows.
Remember: The Alt key is the Japanese-labeled key directly besides the Ctrl key.
In the moddle of the screen the window names are displayed. If you release the Alt-Tab keys, the window which is currently displayed in the middle will be restored:

The following screen shots show a weeXpc with 10 open windows (they have been minimized, hence their icons are shown on the desktop on the right side).

While pressing Alt-Tab to switch to the XMMS window:

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After releasing Alt-Tab:

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4.4.2.3. Task applet
There is a task switcher applet in the panel. It has this icon:

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If you tap that icon, a menu with all open windows will appear, from which you can choose one to bring it to foreground.
In case there are multiple instances of one program running, they are shown as a group. If you tap on that group, the single windows will be shown as another menu to choose one from (as shown in the following screenshot for "Notecase"):


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4.4.2.4. Minimizing / Icons on the desktop
When minimizing the window of an open application, it is not put onto the panel (as you might expect it when you are used to use Windows where minimized applications are put onto the task bar).
Instead they are put onto the dektop background.
If you click one of those icons, the window will be opened and brought to the foreground again.
This can look like that:

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4.4.3. Manipulating window sizes and positions
You have several ways to change the size or position of a window. This is very similar to Microsoft Windows.
Even the icons for window handling are very similar, so they are not described here in detail.

You can tap and drag the lower window corners in order to change the window size (except when the window is maximized):

Tapping and dragging the title bar of a window moves that window around on the screen, except if it is maximized.

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Some advanced window handles can be found in the menu when you click the icon in the upper left corner of the window (on the left besides the title bar).
4.4.3.1. Handling windows which are too large for the screen
It can happen that a window of an application (usually not the main window, but dialogs with a lot of text or input fields) are too large for the screen.
In those cases it will be difficult to move the window using the title bar, because you would need to move the title bar out of sight.

Instead, you can press and hold the Alt key (Japanese key besides Ctrl), tap somewhere inside the window you want to move, and then drag it around. The pointer will change to a move pointer (a cross with four arrows at the ends).
4.4.4. Hiding all open windows
The key combination Ctrl-Alt-D hides (or "minimizes") all open windows.
That way, you can instantly access the desktop or hide all windows against other people.

Note that this method of hiding does not, as normal minimizing does, place window icons on the right half of the desktop.
Use Ctrl-Alt-D once more to unhide the applications or Alt-Tab to switch to a specific hidden application.
4.5. Panel applets
The panel is the bar on the bottom of the screen, which holds the clock and some icons (applets):

alt
4.5.1. Permanent applets
There is a set of applets which are always visible on the panel:
4.5.1.1. The X menu
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This is what under MS Windows is called "Start menu". From here, you can start the installed programs.
4.5.1.2. Task applet
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This is the task switcher applet, described above.
4.5.1.3. Cards applet
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This applet allows you to cleanly unmount CF and SD cards, as well as USB storage devices, before ejecting / disconnecting them physically.
This is necessary, because otherwise you risk data loss and file system corruption.
Also, it allows to mount the media again, if they are still inserted / connected, but unmounted.
4.5.1.4. Screen blanker applet
alt

This applet allows to disable the screen saver (screen blanker) and the suspend function.
Also you can instantly blank the screen, even when the weeXpc is connected to AC power and it is configured not to blank the screen on AC at all.
This can be handy if you leave the weeXpc running over night on AC, but want to rest the screen backlight.

When connecting the weeXpc to AC power, suspend is automaticaly disabled by default. The screen blanker applet shows that by changing its icon to this one (after some seconds):
alt

If you unplug AC again, automatic suspend is enabled again and the icon switches back to the default one.

You can also disable the screensaver (which actually only switches off the backlight to save power). If the screensaver is disabled, you get a small bulb inside the applet's icon:
alt

The applet also allows you to blank the screen instantly.
If you have done so, simply tap onto the screen again to reactivate the backlight.

The default behavior of the weeXpc regarding automatic screen blanking and suspending can be changed in the "Light & Power" applition in in the X menu / System Tools.
4.5.1.5. Volume applet
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This applet lets you set the sound volume.
The bar at the bottom shows the current volume status:

 altalt
4.5.1.6. Network scheme switcher applet (XCardscheme)
alt

You can define several schemes for network card connections (LAN as well as WiFi).
These schemes are defined and configured in the "Lan & WiFi" application in the X menu / System tools.
The network scheme switcher applet lets you choose and activate one scheme.

You only need this applet if you have defined your own network schemes!

There are two schemes predefined:
Default and Kismet.
The Kismet scheme is used by the Kismet WLAN sniffer. When starting kismet from the X menu, it switches to the correct scheme automatically. So it is not necessary to use this applet to switch to the Kismet scheme.
The Default scheme can be configured for your most often used network environment.
Additional schemes are displayed in the applet's window once they are configured under "Lan & Wifi".
4.5.1.7. Power applet
alt

This applet shows the current power status (battery status as well as charging status).
If you click / tap onto that applet, it shows some details.

The icon changes to an AC plug if the weeXpc is connected to AC power using a power adaptor:




The bar at the bottom shows the charging level of the battery.

Clicking / tapping on the applet shows some details.
4.5.1.8. WiFi applet
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This applet shows the status of the WiFi (WLAN) connection.
Grey ball with red cross: Not connected.
Red ball: Connected but not optimal connection.
Yellow ball: Connected with good connection.
Green ball: Connected with very good connection.
Blue ball: Connected with excellent connection.

Clicking / tapping on the applet shows some details.

You can configure the WiFi connection and schemes in the "Lan & Wifi" application in the X menu / System Tools.
4.5.1.9. Clock applet
alt

This applet shows the current time, day of the week and day of the month.

It can be configured to show the time in military format (default, 24h) or in the 12h format, appending "AM" or "PM".
In order to switch to 12h format, open the file ~/.matchbox/mbdock.session.weexpc, look for the line
mb-applet-clock -w
and change it to
mb-applet-clock -w -m

Then restart X.
4.5.2. Applets activatable from the menu
From the X menu / Utilities / Panel you can activate those additional applets.
They can only be removed from the panel by restarting the X system.
4.5.2.1. XScreenshot applet
alt

This lets you take screenshots which are saved as 640x480 pixel PNG files. Click / Tap once on that applet in order to start the screenshot application.
Then you can choose how many screenshots should be taken in a series (default is 1) and you can choose a delay before the first and between the following screenshots (1-30 seconds), then hit OK.
The screenshot application will disapper, take the screenshot(s) each making a shutter sound, the next dialog will show you where the screenshot(s) has been saved and if there was an error taking the screenshot(s).

alt
4.5.2.2. X virtual keyboard applet
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This is a virtual keyboard, which you can use for text entry when the weeXpc is used in PDA (portrait) mode.
4.6. CF and SD cards
The weeXpc is able to read from and write to Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF) memory cards.

The SD slot can only handle SD memory cards, no so-called SDIO cards.
The CF slot however is able to accept also I/O cards, that is, network, WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS, serial port, analogue modem, ISDN etc.
Most of them are usable without installing any additional drivers, because weeXpc comes with most required drivers for those cards.

Please be careful when buying SD cards larger than 2GB: Some of them comply to the newer SDHC standard, which is not supported by the weeXpc.
SDHC cards have this logo:

alt (not supported!)

weeXpc-compatible SD cards have this logo:
alt

In order to use a memory card, simply insert it while the weeXpc is switched on and running.
It is mounted into the file system automatically, and you can access the files for example using the Filer icons on the desktop.

(If the card is not mounted correctly, it is probably not formatted or corrupted - Please check and maybe reformat it in a PC)

Remember:
A CF card is mounted to /mnt/cf
An SD card is mounted to /mnt/card

In order to use an I/O CF card, also simply insert it.
Please tap on the cards applet in order to see if it is recognized correctly. If it is, it is most probably also supported by the included drivers.
Depending on the kind of card, you need to configure its behavior using the configuration tools under "System Tools" in the X menu.

For example, you need to use the "LAN & Wifi" application in order to configure a WLAN or Ethernet card.
You need the "PPP Modem" application to configure a modem card or the dialup profile for a Bluetooth card.

4.6.1. The card applet
An inserted memory card is mounted into the file system.
Removing it without first unmountig it from the file system may cause corruption of the file system.
Therefor you need to umount a card before ejection.

The cards applet is used to do that.
If you tap on the cards applet icon, the status of cards and USB storage is shown.
A green dot in the icon field of the card / USB means that the storage device is mounted.
A red dot means it is not mounted.

Tapping on a field with a green dot umounts the device.
Afterwards you can safely eject the device.

This also applies to CF network, WLAN, Bluetooth or other cards.
Although they are not mounted into the file system, because they are no file storage devices, they should be unconfigured cleanly before ejecting them. For this, also tap on the CF card field of the card applet while the card is shown with a green dot.
4.6.2. Important rules
When the weeXpc is suspended, the CF card is entirely deactivated ("ejected"). That means, it is safe to exchange the CF card when you switched off the weeXpc, even without using the card applet prior to switching the weeXpc off.

Just make sure, if you have a memory card inserted and are going to change the card, that no files from the card are open in any applications anymore. Otherwise these applications might be irritated after resuming the weeXpc, and this may cause data loss.

However, the above does not apply to the SD card!
Please make absolutely sure that the SD card is actively "ejected" using the card applet before you physically pull it out of the weeXpc. No matter if the weeXpc is on or off.
Also, the SD card must be inserted while the weeXpc is running, not while it is off.
Do never remove or reinsert the SD card while the weeXpc is switched off. Due to missing processor interrupts this may lead to file system failures on the SD card.

No applet eject, no SD card remove!

SD card removal / insertion only when weeXpc is running!

This is very important, otherwise the file system on the card can be damaged and data can be lost.
4.6.3. Special rules for weeXpc on SL-C1000
Since version 1.7 of weeXpc, the SD card in an SL-C1000 has, in addition to the data partition, a swap partition which is a partition used be the Linux system as additional RAM.

That means, this swap partition must always be available to he system while the system is running, i.e. the SD card is a very important central part of the system.

If the card is ejected while the system is running, it is as if you pull out a RAM module - the system will most probably crash.

So never eject the SD card of an SL-C1000 running weeXpc 1.7 or later!

If you need to access data on the data partition of the SD card from another computer, you have the following options:

- Shut down weXpc by entering the command "halt" on a Linux terminal. When the system has stopped, you can remove the SD card from the slot. Before you boot weeXpc again, be sure to insert the card again.

- Access the card's contents from outside via Samba over USB or over a network / WLAN connection

- Access the card's contents from outside via USB storage mode

- Copy the card's contents to a CF card, then eject that CF card and use it in other computers.
4.7. The USB interface
The USB interface of the weeXpc can be used as a client port or a host port.

If using the USB port as a host port, i.e. connecting USB devices, you need, for most devices, the short USB host cable (white small USB Mini A plug to black USB A female connector) as an adapter. Only very few USB devices already have an USB Mini A plug to connect to a host. Most have a USB A (normal-sized) plug:
This USB Mini A to USB A female adapter cable looks like this:

alt

For connecting the weeXpc to another USB host as a client, i.e. using the weeXpc's USB port as an USB client port, you need the longer USB A to USB Mini B cable. Its connectors look like this:




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Both cables are usually shipped with any new SHARP Zaurus, but are also available seperately at a lot of places.
Ask hermocom support if you need a cable.
4.7.1. USB host
If it is used as an USB host port, you can connect almost any external USB device to it, just like you connect these external USB devices to a PC.
For example, you can connect a USB storage device (USB hard disk, USB memory stick / flash drive etc.)
A connected USB storage device will be mounted into the file system under /mnt/usbstorage automatically.
You should use the cards applet to unmount it before removal of the device.

But you can also connect a lot of other devices, e.g. USB-Network, WiFi, Bluetooth, Mice, Keyboards etc.
It is also possible to connect more than one device at once, using a USB hub.

The weeXpc USB host port provides only about 200mA of current to the connected USB device(s) in order to save power. A PC supplies 500mA.
That means, some devices may not work when conneted, because they don't get enough power from the port. In order to make them work, you need a powered USB hub, i.e. a USB hub with an own AC adapter or battery.
4.7.2. USB client
You can configure the behavior of the weeXpc when connected to a PC as a client, using the "USB" application under "System Tools" in the X menu.

It is possible to configure it as a USB network device (TCP/IP over USB connection) or as a storage device.
4.7.2.1. USB network
This function can be used in order to establish a full-featured TCP/IP network connection between a PC and the weeXpc, e.g. for synchronizing files, for sharing the Internet connection of the PC with the weeXpc, or even vice versa, or for remote working on the weeXpc using a terminal on the PC.
Another very handy usage of this function is to access the file system of the weeXpc from the host PC using the SMB protocol (Samba server on the weeXpc).
This allows to share the weeXpc files with the PC while both devices are running and fully functional.

In "System Tools" / "USB" you can configure the network settings similarly to a normal network connection configuration, i.e. you need to give the weeXpc an IP address and netmask at least.
If you want to share the Internet connection of the host PC, you also need to give a Standard Gateway (the IP of the PC) and a DNS IP. The latter two are not needed for most use cases, only for Internet connection sharing.

Attention:
In order to use this function, you need to install a driver on the host PC.
For Windows, this driver is delivered with any new SHARP Zaurus on the CD-ROM no 1.
If you connect the weeXpc with USB to a host PC, and the USB network function is configured, the PC will ask for a driver.
Insert the first Zaurus CD-ROM and install the "SL series Ver 3 (NDIS 5)" network driver (not the NDIS serial driver!).

Afterwards, the PC and the weeXpc communicate via network over USB just as they would be connected using Ethernet, i.e. using a TCP/IP connection.
4.7.2.2. USB storage
When configuring the weeXpc as an external USB storage device for the host PC, you can choose which storage device of the weeXpc is shown to the host PC.
It is not possible to show the entire file system, i.e. including all mounted storage devices. You can only choose one storage device of the weeXpc at once for access from outside:

SD card (i.e. use the weeXpc as an external SD card reader / writer)
CF card (i.e. use the weeXpc as an external CF card reader / writer)
Internal storage (only SL-C3200, i.e. access the hard disk of the weeXpc from the PC. Only the large FAT partition (/mnt/ide3) of the weeXpc is provided to the host.).

Attention:
Whenever you provide a storage device to the host PC using this Usb storage function, do not use the file system of that device on the weeXpc simultanously.
This can lead to ambiguous states and may cause data loss.
4.8. The IrDA interface
The IrDA interface of the weeXpc is enabled all the time and can be used e.g. for dialup connections using an IrDA modem, e.g. a mobile phone, or to transfer phone book data from KA/PI to a mobile phone etc.

All this is confirmed to work with the Nokia 6310 mobile phone and fully compatible models.

In order to transfer data from KA/PI or KO/PI to the phone, just choose "Export to phone" from the "File" menu and use the default settings.
Don't forget to switch on the IrDA port of your mobile phone.

In order to establish a dialup connection using a mobile phone, use the "PPP Modem" application under "System Tools", configure it to use /dev/ircomm as the modem port, and use the dialup data provided by the phone company (for GSM or HSCSD cals) or by the phone itself (when using GPRS).

There are plenty of guides for this, depending on the phone model, on the Internet. Use for example this Google search link.
4.9. weeXpc as a PC companion
The weeXpc has been designed so that it can be used almost exclusively for a lot of tasks without the need to use a "big" PC.

However, in many cases the user will need to use a PC as well.
In that case, it may be desireable to connect the weeXpc to the PC in order to share data and applications.

This chapter describes how the weeXpc can be used together with a PC, i.e. how the two devices can exchange data and how it is possible to use the same files and applications on both devices.
4.9.1. USB file sharing
The default configuration of the weeXpc's USB port is to be in USB storage client mode.
That means, if you use the longer USB client cable which has been delivered with the Zaurus, and connect the weeXpc to a PC using that cable, the PC will see the weeXpc's internal hard drive (SL-C3x00, no driver needed) or the SD card (SL-C1000, you need the ext2 IFS driver for that!) as an additional removable drive.

Since on the internal hard disk (/mnt/ide3) or SD card the Documents and portable Windows applications are located, you have direct access to both from the PC, as if the Documents and Windows applications would be located on an USB flash drive you carry around.

One word of caution here:
Please make absolutely sure that the files you access from the Windows PC are not used simultanously from the weeXpc in any manner.
If one file is used from both "sides", this may cause corruption of that file.
So close all applications of the weeXpc before accessing their files from the PC!

When you are finished transfering data or working on your files remotely from the PC, be sure to eject the USB storage drive, i.e. the weeXpc's hard disk, on the PC. This is like umounting a device using the card applet on the weeXpc.
Ejecting is done in the same way you eject a USB stick or camera, using the little green arrow in the Windows tray besides the clock.

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Unmount the weeXpc hard drive from the PC using this icon in Windows!
4.9.2. Samba file sharing
The weeXpc is able to share its files with any other networked PC, so you do not need to copy files from the weeXpc to the PC, but you can instead use Samba.
Just connect the weeXpc via network to the PC. This can be done either using Ethernet, WLAN, USB-network or even using a dial-up connection or Bluetooth.
There only has to be a working TCP/IP connection between the weeXpc and the PC.

This kind of file sharing is called "Samba file sharing", because the Linux-based server which runs on the weeXpc for that service is called "Samba".
Samba is derived form the protocol name "SMB" which means Server-Message-Block. This protocol has been developed at IBM and used heavily by Microsoft.

Please note that Samba is disabled by default on the weeXpc. This is for security reasons.
If you want to use Samba, you need to enable it first using the XSambaConf program in "System Tools".
4.9.2.1. The weeXpc shares
There are two default shares which are provided via Samba:
4.9.2.1.1. weeXpc
This Samba share contains the Documents directory (/home/root/Documents) and the card slots by default and offers read/write access.
It is meant to enable the user to use the weeXpc documents from a PC without swapping memory cards.

It can be extended to more directories from the weeXpc file system easily:
All directories which should be shared read/write must be linked (using a symbolic link) into the directory /home/samba.

So, if you like to share for example also the directory /mnt/ide2/devel open a terminal and type the following command:

ln -s /mnt/ide2/devel /home/samba/SoftwareDevelopment

This will result in Windows showing a new directory entry "SoftwareDevelopment" under the weeXpc share, which provides the contents of the directory /mnt/ide2/devel in read/write mode.

Please note that for Samba file sharing, you do not need file system drivers on the PC from which you access the weeXpc's files (like the ext2 IFS driver needed for the weeXpc SD card of the SL-C1000 weeXpc).
This is because the file systems are not accessed directly, but Samba uses an abstraction layer above these file system, unifying them and making them available to any computer supporting Samba.

However, depending on the kind of network connection between the weeXpc and the PC, you may need the appropriate network drivers.
For example, when connecting the weeXpc via USB to a Windows PC, you need the USB network driver which is located on the first CD-ROM delivered with the Zaurus hardware. See below for further details.
4.9.2.1.2. weeXpc_all_readonly
This share provides the entire file system of the weeXpc, beginning on the first directory level, providing also all mounted file systems,
in read-only mode.

If you want to disable that share for security reasons, you can do so deleting its section from the smb.conf file, e.g. using the XSambaConf tool.
4.9.2.2. Default login data for Samba
The default login data for the weeXpc Samba server is identical to the login for the weeXpc itself:

user "root"
password "hermocom"

In the Maintenance section you can learn how to change passwords.
4.9.2.3. XSambaConf configuration tool
This configuration tool is available from the X menu under "System Tools".
It lets you do the following:

- permanently enable Samba services
- permanently disable Samba services
- edit the smb.conf Samba configuration file
- show the weeXpc's IP address

Please note that "permanently" enable / disable the services means, that you do not need to repeat that action at any time. The setting survives a reboot.
Please also note that after editing the configuration file, Samba services are started automatically, not permanently though, even if you chose "permanently disable" before.
4.9.2.4. Using a Windows PC
In order to use a weeXpc share on a Windows PC, enter a Windows Explorer window, then enter in to the address line:

smb://192.168.129.202\weeXpc

(replace "192.168.129.202" with the real IP address of the weeXpc, XSambaConf can tell you that IP address,
replace "weeXpc" with the desired share name)

Windows will ask for the login data. Log in as root as mentioned above and then you will see the contents of the share in the Explorer.
You can use the shared directories now as if they were directories on the local PC.

The above procedure is suitable if you occasionally connect the weeXpc to that PC.
However, sometimes that procedure does not work, and sometimes you may even want to use the secondly described procedure, because it doesn't require you to enter the Explorer command each time anew.

Second procedure:

You can also assign a Windows drive letter to a weeXpc share, making it even easier to handle the shared directories.
For that, go to "Connect to network drive" in the "Extras" menu of the Windows Explorer.
Enter

\\192.168.129.202\weeXpc

into the server field (replacing IP and/or share name as above), click on "log on using different login data", enter the Samba login data, choose a free drive letter and confirm.
You may also check the box for "reconnect automatically after login". If the weeXpc is not available on login, this does no harm. The drive letter will be assigned and usable when you connect the weeXpc to the PC.
4.9.2.5. Using an Apple Macintosh
This is for Mac OS X:
In Finder, press Apple-K.
In the appearing server name field you can enter the weeXpc's IP address and confirm.
A dialog box will ask for the share you want to see on the Mac.
Afterwards, login data is requested.
If everything has been entered correctly, the weeXpc share will be mounted and shown in the Finder bar on the left.
4.9.2.6. Using a Linux PC
Entering

smb://192.168.129.202/weeXpc

(replace IP address and share name as mentioned above)
into the address field of a file manager usually opens the Samba share.
This works e.g. in Konqueror.

Using the smbmount utility on the command line, it is possible to mount a weeXpc Samba share into the file system of the Linux PC.

e.g. using

mkdir -p /mnt/weexpc
smbmount //192.168.129.200/weeXpc /mnt/weexpc -o username=root

You will be asked for the password, afterwards the share is mounted under /mntr/weexpc
4.9.3. Synchronization of weeXpc and PC
Although the weeXpc has not been designed as a PC companion, but rather as a stand-alone PC, it is possible to synchronize PIM data and directories with other computers in several ways.
This topic is not covered in full detail here. If you are interested in that topic, please refer to the vairous online ressources.

4.9.3.1. PIM synchronization
4.9.3.1.1. Synchronization with a Windows PC running Outlook
This way of synchronization is not possible. It has been announced be the author of KDEPIM/PI in late 2005, but has never been implemented.
However, there is a way to migrate Outlook data to the weeXpc PIM applications:

On the weeXpc you find Windows versions of KA/PI and KO/PI (the address book and the calendar application of the weeXpc from the KDEPIM/PI project).
Both of these programs have options to import data from Outlook.

That way, you can migrate the outlook data to the KDEPIM/PI programs.
In order to get them to the weeXpc, and in future synchronize them between the KDEPIM/PI programs on the weeXpc and on the PC, please follow the steps outlined in the next section.
4.9.3.1.2. Synchronization with a Windows PC running KDEPIM/PI
KDEPIM/PI with its main components KO/PI and KA/PI has been designed with easy synchronizing in mind.
For detailed information about synchronizing KO/PI and KA/PI on different computers, please read the
synchronization howto from the Pi-Sync project homepage.
This synchonization guide is also available on your weeXpc in the Help menu of KO/PI and KA/PI under "Sync HowTo".
4.9.3.1.3. Synchronization with a Linux PC running KDEPIM/PI
For KDEPIM/PI on Linux computers you have the same ways to synchronize with the weeXpc as on a Windows PC (see above).
4.9.3.1.4. Synchronization with an Apple Macintosh running iCal
This way of synchronization is currently not tested or supported by hermocom.

However, it is technically possible.

iCal on the Macintosh uses a data format very similar to the data format of KO/PI.
Hence it is possible to let them use the same file, but the file has to be modified manually.

Search the Internet for keywords ical and kopi, or use these direct links:

http://www.iis.ee.ethz.ch/~richar/zaurus/ical-zaurussync.pdf

http://www.oesf.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t2650.html
4.9.3.2. File / directory synchronization
This kind of synchonization is useful if you want to work on a set of files (usually the files in the "Documents" directory) using different computers without card swapping or Samba file sharing.

You basically keep two copies of these files, one on the weeXpc and one on the synchonized PC.

This allows for better performance when working with the files, also it has the positive side effect that you always have a backup copy of your files.

However, it is not possible to synchronize file contents, only the files themselves. I.e., if you modify both copies of the same file on both computers, file synchonization is not able to combine the two modifications. You will have to select one of copies of that file and discard the other one.

Usually the synchronization program will select automatically where to copy what files, based on the "last modified" timestamp. Hence it is important that the clocks of the two computers are correct and as identical as possible. Time setting via network is a good way to meet this requirement.

File synchronization can be done using Samba file access or direct USB storage file access.
For Samba file access on Windows, the synchronization tool may require you to assign a drive letter to the weeXpc Samba share.
4.9.3.2.1. Synchronization with a Windows PC
The easiest way is to use the freeware tool "Unison" on the Windows PC and let it synchronize the local computer's files with the weeXpc files using "local" synchonization, the weeXpc files accessed via the weeXpc's samba share over a network, or using the USB storage access method.

Please see the Unison manual for detailed instructions.

There is a graphical (GTK-based) version of unison for Windows PCs available here.
4.9.3.2.2. Synchronization with a Linux PC
Since Unison is a cross-platform application, it can also be used on Linux computers.
You can use Unison in the same way as outlined above for Windows PCs.
Most Linux distributions include a Unison package.
4.9.3.2.3. Synchronization with an Apple Macintosh
For Mac OS X, we strongly recommend the commercial program "Chronosync", which does an excellent job.
It is very similar to the Linux/Windows tool unison, but much more convenient to use.
4.9.4. Portable weeXpc application versions
On the internal drive of the weeXpc for SL-C3x00, or on the SD card of weeXpc for SL-C1000 (i.e. accessable using USB storage or Samba), there is a directory named "Windows_Apps".

In this directory there are portable Windows versions of some of the weeXpc applications.

Windows means, you can use them on Windows PCs.
Portable means, you don't need to install that software on a Windows PC, but just start it from their original location, even from the weeXpc's internal drive.

Once the Windows PC has access to the "Windows_Apps" folder on the weeXpc, you can use the Windows Explorer to go into the Windows_Apps directory and start the desired application by going into its subdirectory and doubleclicking its EXE file. See this screenshot (here the weeXpc is accessed via Samba and has the drive letter Z:



alt

Most of the applications can be started directly from the weeXpc. There is no need to install them on the PC.

However, there are some programs which have to be installed on the PC first, because there are no installation-independent versions available yet.
Some of them require the GIMP toolkit (GTK+) runtimes to also be installed on the PC. So if a program complains about this, please first install the GTK+ runtimes, which are also available in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory, then re-install the program.

If you followed the weeXpc paradigm and saved every file, which you created with the weeXpc, in the /home/root/Documents directory, which is linked to "Documents" on the hard drive, then you have everything available from Windows in order to continue to work on a stationary PC or laptop.

In case you never work with Windows or don't need the portable Windows applications, you can safely delete the Windows applications from the weeXpc hard drive.
This will give you several hunderets of Megabytes of free space on the drive.

Many of the portable program versions come trom http://www.portableapps.com.
You may check their website for more recent versions of the programs, or for other programs which you may find useful to have on the weeXpc.
For the Notecase outliner, please check the website http://notecase.sourceforge.net for a more recent portable version. However, it is strongly recommended to always use the same Notecase portable version than the version which is installed on the weeXpc. Notecase is still under heavy developement, so minor version changes can have big feature changes which may cause troubles when working with the same documents from different Notecase versions.
4.10. Usage hints
Every computer has its quirks, so has the weeXpc.
But instead of concealing these quirks and thus letting the user alone with them, we want to let you know about them.
We think that this is one more way to make working with the weeXpc as convenient as possible.

This chapter also gives hints how to make the work with the weeXpc as efficient and effective as possible.
4.10.1. Switching on and off, optimizing power consumtion
4.10.1.1. Suspend
The suspend / resume mechanism works absolutely reliably, but there are situations when the user may think it does not.
If you suspend the weeXpc by pressing OnOff or choosing "Suspend" from the X menu, the screen will switch off instantly, suggesting that the weeXpc falls asleep within no time. However, it doesn't. It needs about 10-20 seconds to go into suspend mode entirely.
During this time, it would be disturbing if the OnOff button is hit once more.
So after suspending, wait 20 seconds before doing anything else!

If you frequently pause using the weeXpc for a short time, e.g. on an exhibition, jumping from booth to booth, we recommend to use the screen closing feature rather than suspend for quicker handling. See below.
4.10.1.2. Resume
The Resume mechanism needs some seconds.
So, if you hit the OnOff button or an application key, in order to awake the weeXpc, please wait some seconds until the screen switches on.
Impatiently pressing OnOff several times to wake the weeXpc up may result in a system crash needing a reset.
We have added an acoustic signal to the resume process while the screen is still switched off in order to make clear to the user that resume is going on.
If you, for some reason, need to switch off that sound, please consult the "Maintenance" section.
4.10.1.3. Closing the screen
Closing the screen does not suspend the weeXpc, as you may be used to from laptops.
It only switches off the screen.
The automatic suspend mechanism (controlled by a timeout configurable in "System Toole" / "Light & Power") wil suspend the weeXpc automatically when that timout has expired.

In order to manually suspend the weeXpc when closing the screen, you need to hit the OnOff button or choose "Suspend" from the menu before closing the screen.

It can be useful to close the screen without suspending, if:
- you use the weeXpc as an MP3 music player (programs continue to run)
- you frequently need the weeXpc for short periods of time. Avoiding the suspend and resume cycles will save you some time.

The screen backlight is one of the main battery drainers of the weeXpc. So closing the screen, switching off the backlight, already reduces power consumption significantly.
The suspend timeout will take care that even if you forget that you have only closed the screen, the battery will not be drained too much over a long period of time.
4.10.1.4. Reducing power consumption
In order to reduce power consumption during usage, the best way is to reduce the brightness of the backlight as much as possible and convenient.
Use Fn-3 and Fn-4 to adjust backlight brightness.

Wireless LAN CF cards also need a lot of power. So if you use one, be sure to eject it everytime you do not need it.
It is enough to eject it virtually using the card applet. It is not necessary to pull the card out of the slot. Be sure that the LED of the card is off, then most probably the card is not powered.

In general, all accessories connected to the weeXpc via CF, SD or USB drain the battery (except if you use an externally powered USB hub). So if you like to save power, connect only what you really need.
4.10.2. Screen rotation
The Zaurus hardware allows to swivel the screen by 180 degrees and flap it back onto the keyboard.
Then, the weeXpc can be used in "Tablet mode" or "Portrait mode".
This can be useful if you don't need a keyboard.

There are some things to take care of:

The screen contents do not automatically rotate. The original Zaurus systems do this, but we switched that feature off in favor of performance.
If you swivel the screen, rotate the contents manually by choosing "Rotate" from the X menu. Choosing that menu item once more rotates the screen back to landscape mode.

In the X menu under "Utilities" / "Panel" you find the "X virtual keyboard". This is an on-screen keyboard for text entry in portrait mode.

Be careful when the screen is swiveled around. Its touch-sensitive surface is showing to the outside, so it is much more prone to being damaged!
4.10.3. Keyboard vs. Touchscreen
The GUI of almost all weeXpc applications can be controlled either using a pointing device (touchscrren with stylus, mouse) or with keyboard shortcuts.

When entering a lot of text, it is recommended to learn the leyboard shortcuts. Using them can be so much more efficient, than repeatedly switching between keyboard and pointing device input.
4.10.4. Starting applications
4.10.4.1. Don't be impatient!
The weeXpc is a full-fledged PC in a tiny package.
Please don't expect the fastest responses from it.

If an application is started, it usually takes some seconds. In some cases, an application needs a very noticeable time (30 seconds or more) to start.
In order to give a fast response, even if the application needs longer to start, we have writen "wasc", the weeXpc application startup control mechanism.

It provides feedback when an application is started. However, even wasc needs some seconds to start.

So when pressing an application key or starting an application from the menu, please wait at least five seconds for a system response.

Also, it is recommended to leave often used applicatoins open and just minimizing them, instead of closing them entirely.
That way, you avoid the long startup times.
For example, if you use the PIM applications, it is recommended to start them only when you boot the weeXpc and leave them open all the time.
With Alt-Tab or using the tasks applet, you can always bring them in front of other running applications in just a second.
4.10.5. If you don't use the weeXpc for a long time
4.10.5.1. Up to a week
When you plan not to use the weeXpc for a few days, up to a week, make sure the battery is fully charged. Also, save all open files at least.
Maybe even close all applications.
4.10.5.2. More than a week
Batteries lose charge, even when they are not used.
So if you plan not to use the weeXpc for more than a week, you should close all applications, shutdown the operating system and remove the battery.

There is no menu entry for a shutdown. Just choose "Reboot" and remove the battery when the screen switches off.

When you reactivate the weeXpc, you will have to set the date and time.
4.10.6. The Console (Terminate X11 entirely)
The X11 system (the graphical user interface) can be terminated entirely, so that only the console is present.
Please note that under the bare console there is no power management, and many features of the weeXpc do not work at all.
That means for example, that you can not switch off the weeXpc using the buttons (only via the sommand "apm -s")

You can leave X and go to the Console by choosing "Exit X" from the X menu.

In the console, you have all the common Linux commands available.
The most important ones are:

startx - Start X again
reboot - reboot the weeXpc
halt - halt the system entirely. Afterwards, please remove the battery.
mc - Midnight Commander (File manager with editor etc.)

And of course, all the common Linux commands are available: cp, mv, less, find, tar, grep, awk etc.etc.
4.11. Keyboard configuration
The weeXpc keyboard is not a standard US keyboard, however, its layout is very similar.
In order to enable the user to enter every character he needs, keys can be reassigned to different characters.
4.11.1. Changing the key mappings
In case you want to change the default key mapping, you can do so modifying the file
/etc/X11/kb/akita.xmodmap

The file is mostly self-explanatory.

In order to get the key codes, start "xev" in a Terminal window, then press keys. xev will output (besides much other info) the keycodes of the pressed keys.
In order to quit xev, close the small graphical window which xev opened or press Ctrl-C in the xev console.

After modifying akita.xmodmap, you need to restart X in order to use the new key mappings.

It is strongly recommended that you keep a backup copy of the original akita.xmodmap file.
4.11.2. Default keyboard configuration
Attachment #01 (keymapping.htm)
Attached to this node is a HTML file showing the default weeXpc keymapping and the free key combinations where other characters can be assigned to.
4.12. Virtual screens
Virtual screens or virtual "desktops" are a feature which lets the advanced user put program windows on four different workspaces, so you can have e.g. one workspace for office work and one for private work, or one for development and one for multimedia and so on.

The four workspaces have the names "one", "two", "three" and "four".

You can switch between these workspaces using the key combinations:
Ctrl-Alt-Right / Ctrl-Alt-Left
(Left and Right are the cursor keys of the cursor keypad)

You can shift the currently active window to another workspace by using teh key combination
Shift-Alt-Right / Shift-Alt-Left

Also, in the menu which appears if you click on the upper left corner icon of any window, you can choose the item "Send to desktop" which lets you send the window to another workspace.

Note that the applet and X menu bar at the bottom is only available on desktop "one", not on the other desktops.
However, using the "Menu" key you can call the X menu also on the other desktops.
A program invoked from the X menu in another desktop than desktop "one" will be placed on this desktop, not on desktop "one".
4.13. Data encryption
By default, all data you save on the weeXpc is not encrypted.
That means, that if the weeXpc is lost or stolen, another person may be able to read your data.

So it is strongly recommended to either not save sensitive data on the weeXpc at all, or to save it only using programs which support encryption.

The password manager PWM/PI of course encrypts everything it saves by default. So you don't have to worry about your passwords. Just be careful enough: The best is to close PWM/PI directly after access to the password database. That way you can be sure that no passwords can be seen by a third person.
Note that PWM/PI is not available for Windows, so you cannot share your password database with a Windows computer.

If you want to save plain textual information using encryption, we recommend you to use the Notecase notes manager, which is able to save its files either unencrypted or encrypted. You can choose between these two methods when saving a document.
An encrypted document can only be opened again when the user enters the password he has given when saving the document.
Notecase uses the powerful and safe "twofish" encryption method.
Notecase is also available fro Windows, even as a portable version (the portable Windows version is included in the weeXpc package and installed, see the section "Portable weeXpc application versions" above.

If you need encryption of files of arbitrary format, you can install the pdaXrom packages "gnupg" and "gpgme" from the following package feed:
http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/beta3/feed/
GnuPG (The GNU Privacy Guard) is a complete and free replacement for PGP. Because it does not use the patented IDEA algorithm, it can be used without any restrictions. GnuPG is a RFC2440 (OpenPGP) compliant application.
You can find more information, as well as the complete documentation of GnuPG, here:
http://gnupg.org/
5. Maintenance
This section describes some maintenance topics of the weeXpc.
Sooner or later you may want or need to perform such actions.

Some of the maintenance actions can only be done on a Linux console.
We tried to make everything as easy and clear as possible so that the user does not need to have deep Linux insight.
However, here is a console tutorial which will help you, just in case you need help:
http://www.math.mcgill.ca/services/linux_basics.php

On the weeXpc, you can start a terminal window from the X menu / "Other" / "Linux Terminal".

N.B.: The terms "Console", "Shell" and "Terminal" mean the same thing here.
5.1. Backups
One very important thing is to prevent data loss.
There is a section in this manual which gives hints how to prevent data loss.

However, it may not be possible to avoid it entirely. Every computer can fail, and so can the weeXpc.

In order to recover from data loss, you need a backup of your data, i.e. a copy of the data somewhere else.
For example on an external USB hard drive, or on a CF card.

The weeXpc offers an own backup program called "weeXpc Backup". You can find it in the "System Tools" section of the X menu.

weeXpc Backup supports creating backups of either only the Documents directory, or of the entire weeXpc system.

Please read in the next sections about the purposes of these two kinds of backups and how to create them.

weeXpc Backup is designed in a way that the user is guided through the process interactively and does not have to care about anything besides connecting the needed hardware for the backup.
Thus, backups are easy to be created. This is a very important criterion, because many people simply don't create backups, because it is too complicated or they don't know how to do that.

It is recommended to create backups on a regular basis.
Depending on how often you use the weeXpc, it may be appropriate if you create a Documents backup every week and a system backup every three months.

If you work daily on important documents, it is recommended to create daily Documents backups.

If you often experiment with the system, install new software, change the configuration etc. you should do frequent system backups. Maybe once a week (time-triggered), or before or after you applied modificatoins to the system (i.e. event-triggered)

Of course you can use the built-in calendar KO/PI to set regular events which remind you of the backups.
5.1.1. Documents backups
Documents backups are backups which contain copies of your documents, i.e. a backup of the directory
~/Documents.

Depending on the amout of data in your documents folder, such a backup may take only a minute or half an hour.
Rule of thumb: 100MB of data is backed up in about 5 minutes.

For the documents backup, you can choose any external target as well as the internal hard drive (only zaurus SL-C3x00). If you create Document backups on the internal hard drive, you have your older document versoins always available, so this is useful to restore corrupted files on the go.
However, it does not protect your data from being lost or stolen together with the Zaurus.

In order to achieve such kind of protection, you need to create backups on external media.

In order to perform such a documents backup, do the following:

- Recommended: Connect the AC adapter.
- Then start weeXpc Backup:
- In the first screen of weeXpc Backup, choose "System" or "SystemMedia".
- In the second screen choose the target medium.
- After confirming the second screen, the backup begins (if all preconditions are met; otherwise you will get an error message).


In order to restore backed up documents, you can use the "tar" command on weeXpc or an archiver application like "WinZIP" on a PC to extract the document files from the backup archive and copy the files back in place.

The backup program lets you know, when the backup is finished, where exactly the backup has been saved.
5.1.1.1. Using the weeXpc backup utility
You can easily create a Documents backup using weeXpc Backup.

All you need is a storage device (SD card, CF card or USB flash drive or USB external hard disk).
Simply connect the device to the weeXpc (insert it / plug it in) and start weeXpc Backup.

In the first screen, choose "Documents", in the second screen choose the device.

If everything is okay, the backup will start right away.

If some checks fail, e.g. if there is not enough space available on the target device, or if the target device is not available at all, you get an error message with further instructions.

5.1.1.1.1. Restoring a Documents backup
The Documents backups are created as one big file (tgz or tar.gz format), containing a compressed archive of the Documents directory.

In case you don't know how to handle that archive format for restoring your data, please refer to the various online ressources about the tar program, or contact hermocom support.

In short:
In order to restore data from a tgz file, create a directory somewhere, copy the tgz file into it, and then run the console command

tar -xzvf filename.tgz

This will unpack the archive.
Newer versions of Winzip are also able to unpack tgz archives.
5.1.1.2. Manual backup using a PC
Since the weeXpc paradigm is that you save all your documents in one place under /home/root/Documents, it is very easy to make a manual backup of your data, without the weeXpc Backup tool.

Simply connect the weeXpc using USB or Samba file sharing to a PC and copy the contents of the Documents directory to the PC's hard disk or to an external drive or any other backup medium.
This is a simple and safe solution for a Documents backup.
5.1.2. System backups (system snapshots)
The more often you change your weeXpc system configuration by using configuration dialogs or by installing additional packages etc, the more often you should take a snapshot of the entire system, in order to be able to restore it, if you either lose or damage the weeXpc or if the weeXpc software setup gets corrupted by a faulty user action.

This process is almost as easy as a Documents backup, but takes a lot of time (several hours), because it creates a backup of the entire weeXpc.

You need a larger storage device (recommended: an external USB hard disk) with enough free space on it to hold the backup. The required space depends on how much space is occupied on the weeXpc hard drive. Use a storage device with at least 2GB of free space and use the "System" backup option.
If you have more than 6GB of space available, you may also use the "SystemMedia" option, which also backs up the data in /mnt/ide3/Media.
That directory is meant to hold Multimedia data.

Since it is probable that users only copy Multimedia content to the weeXpc and don't use the weeXpc as the main storage location for these kind of data, hermocom included the option for a backup without the Media directory, which can save a lot of space and time.

On Zaurus SL-C1000, the SystemMedia option is not available. There, "System" backs up the internal flash and the SD card.

In order to perform such a system backup, do the following:

- Important: Connect the AC adapter!
- Then start weeXpc Backup:
- In the first screen of weeXpc Backup, choose "System" or "SystemMedia".
- In the second screen choose the target medium.
- After confirming the second screen, the backup begins (if all preconditions are met; otherwise you will get an error message).

It is recommended to run such backups over night, because it can take a very long time.



In order to restore a backed up system state, please refer to the next section about system recovery.

The backup program lets you know, when the backup is finished, where exactly the backup has been saved.
5.1.2.1. Restoring system backups
Restoring system backups can be done via the "recovery" process, using the recovery DVD.

Please follow the steps from the section "Recovery of the original weeXpc state" below, but before starting the recovery process, replace the according files of the recovery DVD with the system backup files of the same names.

Then, when you perform the weeXpc recovery process, you will restore the backed up state.

The exact procedure is decribed in the README.txt file on the recovery DVD. Please read that file before doing a recovery or system backup restore.
5.2. Recovery of the original weeXpc state or of a system backup
When you got your weeXpc package, you also received a DVD-ROM with weeXpc recovery data.
The data on this DVD can be used to revert the entire weeXpc system to its original ("factory default") state or to a backed up state.

Please be aware that the recovery process is complicated and needs some Linux knowledge. In case you need assitance, please call hermocom for support. The recovery can be done by anyone, but unexperienced people should do this only with assitance of a person who has experience with Linux.
In case you need to recover the weeXpc to factory default or a backed up state, you will need a Compact Flash memory card (CF card) of at least 2 GB, where you will need to copy the installation files to.
For recovery of a complete system snapshot created by the backup application, you may need a larger CF card (4GB or 8GB, depending on the amount of backup data).

In case of factory default recovery, the installation files are placed on the DVD-ROM in the "RECOVERY" directory

In case of a system backup restore, you need to copy all files to the CF card which are in the DVD-ROM "RECOVERY" directory, and then copy all the files to the card, which the backup application has generated in the backup directory, including all scripts and other non-"tgz" files, overwriting the files with the same name on the CF card.

Then follow the instructions in the "README.txt" file on the DVD-ROM.

The factory-default recovery process will erase all user data on the weeXpc, including all data on the hard drive. So in case you perform this recovery process, be sure to make a backup of your documents if you don't want to lose them.


A CF card suitable for the installation / recovery process can be bought in almost every electronics or photo store. Just make sure it is large enough to hold all the disc contents or system backup files.

In future, there may be CF card capacities which are not supported by the weeXpc. At the time of writing this manual, we know that most or even all cards up to 16GB work flawlessly.
5.3. Enhancing weeXpc functionality by installing additional or updated software
The functionality of the weeXpc can be enhanced by installing additional software packages.

There are a lot of ressources on the Internet which offer software packages for the Sharp Zaurus.
Please note that most of these ressources offer packages which are not compatible with weeXpc, but with the original Sharp ROM or Cacko ROM.

However, you may use packages from repositories (also called "feeds") which offer packages compatible with pdaXrom 1.1.0beta3.

Here is a list of some of the most important feeds:

http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/beta3/feed/
http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/beta3/custom/
http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/contribs/everyone-pdaxrom/
http://matrixmen.free.fr/zaurus/pdaxrom/oesf/feed/

Please note that after installing software from pdaXrom feeds, the new applications are not integrated entirely into the weeXpc environment.
Some automatic user interface enhancements, such as the hourglass window, automatic window maximisation on startup etc. are not done.
This is what the "wasc" script is responsible for.
See section "Configuring wasc" of this manual.


If you do not have the latest version of weeXpc, you can update your weeXpc version to the latest one. Update packages can be downloaded here:
http://www.hermocom.com/en/services/weexpc/updates
5.3.1. Installing packages on weeXpc for Zaurus SL-C3200
There is plenty of free space for additional software on the weeXpc 3200, since it has a built-in hard disk.
The partition 2 of the hard disk is reserved for programs and special kinds of data.
So, if you install software on a weeXpc 3200, it is recommended to choose "ide2" or "/mnt/ide2" as the target.

You may as well install software to CF card or SD card.
Please be aware that some programs require to be installed on a Linux file system (such as ext2, ext3, ReiserFS or jffs) and not on a Windows file system (FAT), because of the missing support for symbolic links and file access permissions in FAT. However, flash cards, no matter if CF or SD, are formatted with FAT initially.

So installing software to the internal flash or to the ide2 hard disk partition is safe.
Installing software to memory cards or another hard disk partition is not safe.

Please ask hermocom support if you are unsure.
5.3.2. Installing packages on weeXpc for Zaurus SL-C1000
The Zaurus SL-C1000 doesn't have an internal hard disk.
All software is installed on the internal flash memory (128MB) or to the SD card. When delivered, the flash memory is almost filled, so there is not much room for additional programs.
If you intend to install a package, please make sure it will fit into the available flash space or use the SD card as the installation target.

Please be aware that some programs require to be installed on a Linux file system (such as ext2, ext3, ReiserFS or jffs) and not on a Windows file system (FAT), beacause of the missing support for symbolic links and file access permissions in FAT. However, flash cards, no matter if CF or SD, are formatted to FAT initially.
The weeXpc SD card, which is delivered or installed with weeXpc for SL-C1000, is formatted with an ext2 file system, so it will not lead to problems installing software there.

Installing packages on the weeXpc SD card is safe.
installing packages on the internal flash is not safe, unless you are really sure there is sufficient space.
5.3.3. How to install packages
There are two ways to install packages:
You download the IPK package file from the internet and install it manually using the package manager or
you let the package manager download the package from a "feed" and let it install the package afterwards.
The latter is recommended, because it is easier and safer.

Dependencies will be resolved by the package manager.
That means, if package X requires package Y in order to run, the package manager will see that and install package Y along with package X automatically. Provided that the package manager finds package Y in the configured feeds.
This mechanism of dependencies is often used, because many programs are built to rely on the presence of certain "libraries", i.e. collections of functions.
For example, a program which can load and save from and into XML files will probably need the XML libraries.

There are two package managers available on the weeXpc:
- the "ipkg" command on the command line
- the graphical Package manager, which is available under "System Tools" in the X menu.

Both programs support both the manual and the automatic installation method.
Below we describe the GUI-based package manager. The "ipkg" command has a good online help. It works very similar to the GUI based package manager.

The "Install on" field in the graphical package manager shown below, denotes the target for installation.
The numerical value behind it is the free space on that device.
Unfortunately, the package manager does not show in advance how much space a package requires.
So in order to estimate if a package will fit into the target, you should look at the file size of the IPK package file, multiply that by 1.5 and compare the result with the free space shown in the package manager (multiplying is ecessary because the IPK format contains compressed data which will be expanded during install).

/ is the root file system, i.e. the internal flash.
/mnt/card is the SD card
/mnt/cf is the CF card
/mnt/ide2 is the software installation partition of the internal hard drive of the Zaurus SL-C3x00. This is not usable on a Zaurus SL-C1000!


alt
5.3.3.1. Install a package file manually
Start the package manager, then click the "Open" button. This will raise a file open dialog for you to choose the IPK package file to install.
Search for the file and hit "Open". This will install the chosen package and, if available through the configured feed(s), also the dependencies.
You can observe what is happening by opening the "Log" tab of the package manager.

A restart of X may be required in order to make new programs visible in the X menu.
5.3.3.2. Install packages automatically from a feed
The package manager is configured to read in the feed for weeXpc packages at http://www.hermocom.com/feeds/weexpc.

This configuration can be found in the file /etc/ipkg.conf and under the "Settings" tab in the package manager.
There you can also add more feeds, e.g. the pdaXrom feed addresses given above.

But please note that installing or updating packages from these feeds means that the installed aplications are not integrated entirely into the weeXpc environment. Installing of additional packages is entirely on your own risk!


Start the package manager, then hit the "Update" button. This will renew the package manager's information about available packages in the configured feed(s).
Under "Available" you then see a list of available packages.

Check the one(s) you want to install with a checkmark on the left side, then hit the "Run" button. The checked package(s) wil be installed as well as their dependencies.
You can observe what is happening by opening the "Log" tab of the package manager.

A restart of X may be required in order to make new programs visible in the X menu or to let system changes take effect.


5.3.4. How to remove packages
In the package manager, you see the list of installed packages under "Installed".
If you check one or more installed packages with a checkmark on the left side, then hit the "Run" button, these packages will be removed.

Attention: it is dangerous to remove packages which were preinstalled by hermocom.
You can usually remove packages of programs you really do not need. However, there is no way to re-install them afterwards, because the original packages have been taken from pdaXrom feeds, installed and then some files have been modified for weeXpc integration.
Reinstalling the original pdaXrom package may result in unfunctional or less functional programs.

So please only remove packages you have installed before or packages which you know you will never need.
Be aware that a lot of packages are not applications, but basic system components! So only remove any packages if you are sure what you are doing.

Please contact hermocom support if you are unsure.
5.4. Font sizes
Depending on your individual eyesight, some applications may have too small fonts so you cannot read the text conveniently on the screen.

If you have this problem, please have a look into the "Options" or "Preferences" dialogs of the applications in question. Usually there is a way to set bigger font sizes.
When setting bigger font sizes, care about the dialog sizes of the application, which may increase beyond the screen limits.

In case you don't find the needed setting or if you are unsure how to change it, please write to hermocom support.
5.5. Changing passwords
5.5.1. Main root password
The main root password is atually unused, because the root login on the weeXpc happens automatically during boot.
However, you may have a reason to change this password.
To do so, issue the command "passwd" on a console.
5.5.2. Samba root password
Changing the Samba root password may be important, if Sama is enabled on your weeXpc.
E.g. if you think someone has foud out the initial password, or if you think this initial password is too weak.

In order to change the Samba root password, use the command "smbpasswd" on a console.
5.6. Modifying Samba file sharing behavior
The default configuration should be suitable for most situations:

The weeXpc exports two shares:

"weeXpc" is a read-write share of /home/samba.
So everything which is inside /home/samba can be accessed by a remote computer for read/write access.
By default, this is only the /home/root/Documents directory.

"weeXpc_all_readonly" is the entire file system of the weeXpc, accessable only in read-only mode.

These settings are stored in the file /etc/samba/smb.conf.

The XSambaConf tool under "System Tools" allows to edit this config file and afterwards restarts Samba so that the changes are applied instantly.
Please refer to publicly available Samba tutorials and references in order to learn the syntax of this file.

For example, you can use this reference.




5.6.1. Example 1: Remove the weeXpc_all_readonly share
For security reasons, you might want to remove the weeXpc_all_readonly share.
To do this, use the XSambaCont tool under "System Tools", edit the configuration file and delete the entire section which begins with
 [weeXpc_all_readonly] from the config file, then save and exit.

XSambaConf will restart the Samba services instantly in order to apply the changes.
5.6.2. Example 2: Adding more directories to the weeXpc share
Here, no config file editing is needed.
Just link everything which you need to share into the /home/samba directory.

For example, if you want to share a directory called "my_stuff" from the SD card, link that directory into /home/samba with the following command on a console:

ln -s /mnt/card/my_stuff /home/samba

Or, if you want to share the contents of the large internal hard disk partition 2 (which is dangerous, because this partition contains program and system files, so be careful!), issue this command:

ln -s /mnt/ide2 /home/samba/ide2

A directory linked into the share that way will show up instantly on the PC which uses the share. There is no need to restart the Samba services.

Please only put content (i.e. files) into the shared directories under the share, not into the share directly, because that would fill up the internal flash memory very quickly.
E.g. from the weeXpc, don't copy any files into /home/samba, but only into /mnt/card/Documents.
From a PC which uses the share "weeXpc", don't put anything into "weeXpc", but only into a subdirectory, e.g. "weeXpc\Documents".
5.7. Configuring wasc and integrating new programs
wasc is a bash shell script, a so-called wrapper script for the weeXpc applications.

Instead of calling an application directly, e.g. "gnumeric", weeXpc is configured to call the wrapper script with the application, i.e. "wasc gnumeric".
wasc checks if the rogram is already running, brings the already running instance to the foreground if there is one, instead of starting a new instance.
wasc is also responsible for showing you the hourglass window on application startup, and it checks for availability of the Document directory, if the started application needs it.
wasc does much more, though. If you like to understand what wasc does and how it does it, please read the wasc shell script in /usr/bin/wasc on your weeXpc.

The behavior of wasc can be configured for each application.
For that purpose, there are the wasc settings files in /usr/share/wasc.

The settings file for an application has the same name as the program name (binary name), e.g. there is a file "abiword", a file "gnumeric", a file "kopi" and so on.
The files contain settings in the form of

VARIABLE=VALUE

The meanings of the available variables are explained below. You may modify these files, or generate new ones for additionally installed applications which are not integrated yet into the weeXpc / wasc system.
Please be aware that in order to integrate a program, you need to generate a wasc settings file and you need to tell the X menu to call the applicatoin using wasc as a wrapper. You do this by changing the "Exec" line in the .desktop file of the application. The .desktop files are located in /usr/share/applications.
So if you installed a new program called "Example" which has not been offered by hermocom as a weeXpc program, you may want to do the following in order to integrate that program:

- Add "wasc" to the Exec line in the .desktop file, e.g. change in /usr/share/applications/example.desktop the line
Exec=example
to
Exec=wasc "example"

- Add a wasc settings file for the program. It must have the same name as the binary, e.g. what is in the Exec line of the .desktop file:
/usr/share/wasc/example

You need the NAME parameter and a TIME value.
Other parameters are optional.
Please see below to see which options are available.
5.7.1. wasc parameters
The following parameters are supported by wasc and can be used in wasc settings files:
5.7.1.1. NAME
Application name. Freely choosable. Is displayed in hourglass screen on startup. Example:
NAME="Abiword word processor"
5.7.1.2. TIME
Sets the time value in seconds to set the time the hourglass screen is shown on startup (rule of thumb: Start the application without wasc, measure the time the first window of the application appears, multilpy it by 1.3 and use that time for the TIME parameter. Example:
TIME=50
5.7.1.3. USESDOCUMENTSDIR=1
Set this if the application relies on the directory /home/root/Documents for file storage. Wasc complains and asks if the program should really be started if this parameter is set and the Documents dir is not found.
5.7.1.4. MAXIMIZE=1
This enables the automatic maximization of the application's window directly after application start.
5.7.1.5. GEOMETRY
The string here is passed on to the application. Most applications support the --geometry parameter. Use GEOMETRY="--geometry $MAXGEOM" to use the default maximum geometry setting or define your own geometry. This is useful to set a specific window size.

Use "MAXIMIZE" instead to maximize the window for   most applications.
Applications with a splash screen may instead need the GEOMETRY="--geometry $MAXGEOM" setting. Or try to disable the splash screen in preferences or via command line switch.

Examples:
GEOMETRY="--geometry $MAXGEOM"
GEOMETRY="--geometry 400x300+20+40"
5.7.1.6. KDEPIM=1
For programs from the KDEPIM suite.
This perdorms another check for the kdepim data directory in order to prevent PDEPIM applications from falling back to default settings when they are started and don't find their configured settings on startup.
6. Application usage reference
This reference does not contain complete user manuals of the installed software.
Instead, it will only shortly describe the purpose and features of the installed programs and refer to publicly available ressources (online manuals, FAQs etc) for further information.

Also, the modifications are described, we or other developers applied to some programs to make them more usable on the weeXpc.

One general note on using applications which use data files to work on (e.g. the word processor working on a text document, the spreadsheet application working on a sheet etc.):
weeXpc's philosophy is that you store all such data files in the "Documents" directory.
For this purpose there is a so-called "link" from the home directory to the actual Documents directory on the hard disk, as mentioned before:

/home/root/Documents (or ~/Documents because ~ is an abbreviation for "/home/YOURUSERNAME")
is linked to
/mnt/ide3/Documents (on SL-C3x00) or
/mnt/card/Documents (on SL-C1000)

Some applications are preconfigured to store their files in
/home/root/Documents

Some applications cannot be preconfigured to do so.
So please, if you want to follow this data file storage philosophy, take care you are always storing your files under
/home/root/Documents
i.e. in a subfolder of that directory matching the kind of file you are about to save.
This will make data backups safe and easy, and it allows you to easily work with your files using a PC, by simply connecting the weeXpc to a PC and using the files in "Documents".

You may freely create new directories under "Documents" or delete unneeded directories.
Think of the "Documents" directory as a similar thing as the "Documents and Settings" directory on a Windows machine.
6.1. Office
6.1.1. Wordprocessor
"Abiword" is a text processor which is used very similarly to Microsoft Word.

Abiword has been optimized to fit the weeXpc screen. Otherwise it is identical to the original Abiword version.

Links to further information:

Abiword Homepage
Abiword user's manual

Abiword is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.2. Spreadsheet
"Gnumeric" is a powerul, Microsoft-Excel-like and -compatible spreadsheet application.

Links to further information:

Gnumeric homepage
Gnumeric feature list

Gnumeric is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.3. E-Book Reader
Opie-Reader is used as the weeXpc E-Book Reader.

Links to further information:

Opie-Reader homepage
Opie-Reader FAQ
6.1.3.1. Keyboard shortcuts configured for convenient use on the weeXpc
Usable from the normal keyboard of from the keys on the outside, if screen is swiveled to PDA mode:

OK / Enter: Toggle autoscroll
Up: Auoscroll slower
Down: Autoscroll faster
Esc: Fullscreen

Other key assignments:

D: Page Down
I: Invert colours
Left: Zoom out
Right: Zoom in

Under Settings / Buttons, the key mappings can be modified.
6.1.3.2. Hints
Some dialogs in Opie-Reader have no "OK" button. Use the "OK" or "Enter" key instead. Just closing the dialog will not apply the changes made in the dialog.
6.1.4. Address book
"KA/PI" is part of the KDEPIM/PI program suite.
(KDEPIM/PI = Personal Information Management tools for KDE / Platform Independent. KDE is a Linux desktop environment, such as Windows. Platform independent means, that there are versions for Linux, Windows and of course for the weeXpc. So you can use the same data files from your weeXpc and a Windows or Linux PC.)

Links for further information:

KDEPIM/PI project homepage
KA/PI FAQ

KA/PI is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.5. Calendar
"KO/PI" is also part of the KDEPIM/PI program suite.

KO/PI has a bug that after an alarm was rang, the KO/PI main window decreases in size and is not maximized anymore.
The workaroud in weeXpc is this:
If you press the "Calendar" key, the window is re-maximized and brought to front.

Links for further information about KO/PI:

KDEPIM/PI project homepage
KO/PI Feature list
KO/PI FAQ

There are some more documents available on the KDEPIM/PI homepage, e.g. about synchronizing and about the Timetracking feature of KO/PI.

KO/PI is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.6. Notecase Outliner
"Notecase" is a very powerful outliner, i.e. it organizes information hierarchically in a tree manner.
It is similar to Mindmapping, with the difference that the information is not placed randomly around a center node, but in an orered tree view on one side of the screen.

Notecase can be used for a lot of purposes:

- Storing notes
- Storing sensitive data (Notecase has a strong encryption method built-in)
- Managing todos
- Create meeting notes
- Create professoinal HTML reports from meeting notes and all other kind of information
- Create entire websites using a combination of the special features, such as links, HTML web export, image inclusion, file attachments etc.
- and many more.

This weeXpc manual (the original file which is delivered with the weeXpc, as well as the online HTML version) has been created using Notecase.

Notecase has an excellent online documentation, which you get when you choose the menu item Help / Show Help.

Links to further information:

Notecase project homepage

Noteacase is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.

There is also a professional version of Notecase, Notecase Pro, which is available for a small license fee from Virtual Sky http://www.virtual-sky.com
Virtual Sky offers a weeXpc IPK package for download. For full usage of all Pro features, ou need to purchase a license and put the license file into the ~/.notecase directory on the weeXpc.
6.1.6.1. weeXpc-specific keyboard shortcuts
Notecase uses the F keys a lot in its default configuration.
They are available on the weeXpc as well using Fn-Shift-Number, but in order to make some actions easier, Notecase additionally provides these keyboard shortcuts which are not displayed in the menus:

Show Help - F1
Show Help - Ctrl+D

Switch Focus (Tree/Text) - F5
Switch Focus (Tree/Text) - Ctrl+P

Insert Node - Ins
Insert Node - Ctrl + J

Insert Child Node - Shift + Ins
Insert Child Node - Ctrl + Shift + J

Rename Node - F2
Rename Node - Ctrl + M

Find next - F3
Find next - Ctrl+Shift+F


For these and all the other standard shortcuts, please refer to the Notecase help.

The keyboard shortcuts can be changed in the Notecase menu "Edit" / "Shortcuts".
6.1.7. Money Manager Ex
Finance accounting application.

On first start, a wizard guides you through the profile / account creation process.
6.1.8. OpenOffice
Openoffice is installed on the weeXpc to grant a higher level of compatibility with Microsoft Office files, in case the default weeXpc office applications for text processing and spreadsheet (Abiword and Gnumeric) fail to open such files.

Openoffice has very bad performance on the weeXpc, because OpenOffice is a huge software package. So it is not recommended to use OpenOffice as the main office environment.
Startup of OpenOffice will take several minutes, and reaction to user input (keyboard and stylus / mouse) is quite slow.
OpenOffice may crash when there is not enough memory available.

Otherwise, usage of OpenOffice is straight-forward and similar to Microsoft Office or Abiword / Gnumeric.

Also, OpenOffice is the opensource variant of Sun's StarOffice, so if you have worked with StarOffice before, you will know OpenOffice as well.


Links to further information:

OpenOffice homepage

OpenOffice is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.9. Database
"PortaBase" is a small database program for creating, browsing, and editing custom tables of data.
Typical uses are media inventories, reference charts, shopping lists, TODO lists, password management, photo albums, etc.

For example, hermocom uses Portabase as the database behind our online product catalogue. We use the flexible filter-based export feature and some self-written scripts to generate the HTML pages under
http://www.hermocom.com/en/services/zaurus
http://www.hermocom.com/en/services/hplx
etc.

Portabase has an encryption feature which allows to store sensitive information in encrypted files.

Links to further information:

Portabase homepage
Portabase documentation

Portabase is also available for MS Windows and included as an installable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.10. Project Management (only on model 3100/3200)
This is the program "planner", which is similar to Microsoft Project.
It allows to plan projects using the usual task description, display them as Gantt charts, lists etc.
Planner is able to import data from MS Project.

Planner is also available for MS Windows and included as an installable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.

It needs the GTK runtime also to be installed from the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.1.11. Password manager
"PWM/PI" is part of the KDEPIM/PI program suite.

This is a very sophisticated password management software which holds your PINs ans passwords safely in an encrypted file and cares a lot about safety in general: For example every action which reveals sensitive data needs iput of the master password.
Also, timeouts take care that no sensitive data is displayed for a too long time on the screen.

The encryption method can be chosen. Several options are offered.

The Help menu offers a "Faq" option which contains several usage tips.

Links for further information:

PWM/PI on the KDEPIM/PI project homepage
6.1.12. Dictionary
"Zbedic" is a dictionary application which uses bedic dictionary files, which are available for free on the Internet.

weeXpc contains several pre-installed dictionary files which ZBedic is configured to use, e.g. some bilingual dictionaries and a german and an English version of the Wikipedia.
Use the books icon right besides the search bar to choose a dictionary.

ZBedic starts up with a relatively small window, because it is meant to be used like an "applet" for quickly looking up a word.
The windows can, of course, be maximized using the maximize button in the title bar.

Links to further information:

ZBedic homepage
Dictionaries
6.1.13. PDF viewer
"ePDFView" is a PDF file viewer which is able to display most PDF files in their original layout.
Especially when zooming, please be patient, because zooming takes a lot of processor power.

Links to further information:

ePDFView homepage
6.2. Internet
6.2.1. Webbrowser (Dillo)
Dillo is a fast and lightweight webbrowser, able to display most internet pages which do not require a lot of Multimedia capabilities or scripting / Jave etc.

Usage is very similar to eery other standard browser.
The "F" on the left besides the address line is the File menu, the "V" contains other menu items.
The book icon calls the bookmarks view inside the browser view area.
Bookmark / Favorite maintenance is done by clicking the "modify" link inside the Bookmarks view.

If Dillo is not capable to handle a page, use Firefox instead. See below.

Links to further information:

Dillo homepage
6.2.2. Webbrowser (Mozilla Firefox)
Firefox is the well-known standard Webbrowser which is available for Linux, Windows and Macintosh.
This is a complete version.
Since Firefox is a large program it loads not as fast as the Dillo webbrowser and reacts a bit more slowly.
But is is compatible with more websites than Dillo.

Firefox is preconfigured to save downloaded files to /home/root/Documents/Downloads

Links to further information:

Firefox homepage

Firefox is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.2.3. Instant messenger
"Gaim" is a multi protocol instant messenger. It is used for exchanging messages or files in real-time and for chatting.
The most important protocols it supports are AOL Instant Messenger protocol and ICQ.

On first start it asks you to configure your account. Once you did, you won't be asked anymore.

Links to further information:

Gaim homepage

Gaim is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.2.4. WLAN sniffer
With this tool called "Kismet", you can find out how many and what WLANs you are able to receive currently.
This can be very handy when planning your own WLAN at home or a WLAN hotspot:
Kismet shows you for example which WLAN channels are already occupied so you can choose a free one.

Rule of thumb:
Choose one with 3 channel numbers ditance to the next occupied channel (i.e. if channels 1, 4 and 12 are occupied, you can choose a channel between 7 and 9).

Kismet also shows you the characteristics of the receivable WLANs (encryption, load etc.)

Links to further information:

Kismet homepage
6.2.5. PPP Dialer
With PPP Dialer, you can establish dialup connections which you have configured with "PPP Modem" under "System Tools".
Just choose the connection type, connect the dialup device, such as Modem, mobile phone, Bluetooth device etc. and then hit "connect"

To shut down the dialup connection, just press "Disconnect", which is the same, relabeled button when the connection is active.

The log window of PPP dialer will show a lot of messages during connection establisment.
But there is no "Connection established" message.

Rule of thumb:
Once in the log windows the messages stop appearing in short sequences, and as long as there is no error message, the connection can be used.
Usually, the last messages when the connection can be used begin with "DNS IP".
6.2.6. Email (Sylpheed)
Sylpheed is a lightweight and feature-rich email client which has a look and feel similar to MS Outlook or other common email clients.
Once you configure an SMTP / POP or IMAP account with it, you can use it over any kind of network or dialup Internet connection.

Sylpheed has been preconfigured to use the KA/PI address book for looking up email addresses.
I.e. when you enter a name into the address fields when composing an email and then press Tab, Sylpheed will look up the name in the KA/PI address book and fill in the email address corresponding to the entered name.
However, this is no complete address book integration, so addresses you add within Sylpheed are added to Sylpheed's address book, not to the KA/PI address book.

Links to further information:

Sylpheed homepage

Sylpheed is also available for MS Windows and included as an installable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.2.7. Email (OM/PI)
OM/PI is an email client, which is part of the KDEPIM/PI program suite, hence it integrates well with the KA/PI address book.
OM/PI has been designed mainly for IMAP mailbox access, but it also supports POP3.

Whether you rather use Sylpheed or OM/PI can depend on the amount of mail you handle.
For a lot of mail handling, we recommend you to use Sylpheed.
For occasional mail reading and replying, OM/PI is ideal.

OM/PI is a derivate of OpieMail (OM/PI = OpiaMail/Platform independent)

Links to further information:

OM/PI project page of KDEPIM/PI
6.2.8. IRC chat
"XChat" is a simple IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client.

Links to further information:

XChat homepage
6.2.9. FTP client
"gFPT" is a graphical FTP client.
FTP clients are used to connect to an FTP server in order to transfer files.
(FTP = File Transfer Protocol).

Links to further information:

gFTP homepage
6.3. Sound & Video
6.3.1. Mixer
This is a graphical Mixer application.
In order to simply set the system volume, you don't need this mixer. Rather use the volume applet in the panel for that.
6.3.2. Quasar Media Player
Quasar is a media player which uses mplayer for playing back music and video files.

Its interface is very intuitive and well designed, and it feautes a lot of features known from modern media players, such as tag reading, playlists, fast library search, filters, cover art etc.

Further information on the
Quasar Homepage


Note for users of older versions of weeXpc:
Quasar replaces the media players "XMMS" and "SMPlayer" from prio weeXpc versions!
6.3.3. Stream Tuner
Stram Tuner is an Internet radio broadcast tuner application.
It can tune into broadcasts from Shoutcast and Xiph.org.

Stream Tuner is configured to use SMPlayer as its player client.

One hint for usage:

When tuning into an audio stream, the audio player first fills its buffer for some seconds before it begins to play.
So please be patient when tuning into a stream and wait for a minute until the stream begins to play.

Streamtuner is also capable of recording streams to disk.
For that task, it uses the "StreamRipper" program which is started automatically when hitting the "record" button.
With Ctrl-C you can quit StreamRipper.

StreamRipper is able to evaluate the metadata of audio streams, so when the stream contains metadata, i.e. data about currently player song with artist name, StreamRipper will create one MP3 file per recorded song and name it correctly after artist and title.

Links to further information:

StreamTuner homepage

Streamripper homepage

SMPlayer homepage
6.3.4. Musicweed
Musicweed is a small tool written by hermocom which acts as a valuable companion to StreamTuner and Streamripper:

If you recorded a lot of songs using the record feature (streamripper) of StreamTuner, you may only want to keep the best songs and "weed out" the directory.

Musicweed, when started, lets you select a directory which contains MP3 files.
It presents each song to the user by speaking its title (using the espeak text to speech engine) and then playing the song.
It shows a dialog in which the user can select "Delete Song" or "Keep Song".

If the user clicks "Delete Song", the currently played song is moved into the "MusicWeedDelete" directory, which can be deleted manually after the Musicweed session.
If the user clicks "Keep", the currently played song is moved into a "MusicWeedKeep" folder.

At the beginning, the user is prompted to enter an optional string which can classify the music which Musicweed will weed out.
That string is appended to the MusicWeedKeep folder name. So if you enter "Guitar" there, the resulting keep folder will be named "MusicWeedKeep_Guitar".

Due to the speech output and the simple user interface, Musicweed can conveniently be used e.g. while driving a car, with the weeXpc connected to the car HiFi. However, a word of warning: Using Musicweed during driving causes distraction and thus is dangerous!

Please note:
Musicweed can be used to weed out flat directories of MP3 files.
This can be any MP3 collection.
If that collection has been created using StreamTuner and Streamripper, be aware that Musicweed will only work correctly if the stream which has been recorded used metadata so streamripper was able to name the MP3 files according to the real artist and title information.
6.4. Graphics
6.4.1. The GIMP
The GIMP is the "Gnu Image Manipulation Program". It is a free and feature-rich alternative to Adobe's "Photoshop".

Since the GIMP is a large program, it will load and run not very fast on the weeXpc. However, for smaller tasks it works very well.

Links to further information:

GIMP online documentation


The GIMP is also available for MS Windows and included as a portable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.
6.4.2. Painting program
"mtPaint" is a Painting program.
It can be used to draw directly on the screen using the stylus, for documentary or artistic works.

Links to further information:

mtPaint homepage

Screenshot: mtPaint in action
6.4.3. Image viewer
"GQView" is an image viewer with features such as fullscreen, slideshow, random image selection, image rotation, Thumbnail display, zoom, panning just with the fingers directly on the weeXpc screen, find duplicates, EXIF support etc.

It is very convenient to use with simple keyboard shortcuts, e.g. for vieweing your photo collection.

Links to further information:

GQView used manual

GQView homepage
6.4.4. Diagram editor
This is a vector graphics editor for drawing all kinds of diagrams. It is similar to the well-known commercial program "Visio".

Links to further information:

Dia documentation (manual, tutrial etc.)
Dia homepage

Hint:
Please be aware that Dia has two windows: One smaller main window which contains the drawing tools, and one large window for the diagram.
It may happen that on startup of Dia the large window is in the foreground, hiding the smaller toolbox window.
In that case, please use Alt-Tab or the task applet to bring the toolbox window to foreground.
Alternatively, you can use the tools also from the "Tools" menu in the diagram window.

Dia is also available for MS Windows and included as an installable Windows version in the weeXpc's "Windows_Apps" directory.

It needs the GTK runtime also to be installed from the weeXpc.
6.5. Games

6.5.1. LBreakout
Breakout Clone, playable nicely using the keyboard or mouse / stylus in Fullscreen mode.
6.5.2. LMarbels
This is an Atomix clone, a puzzle game similar to Sokoban.
Playable nicely using the keyboard in fullscreen mode.
6.5.3. LTris
This is a Tetris clone.
Search Tetris on Google for a few hundered instructions sheets...
6.5.4. Minesweeper clone (xdemineur)
This game is very similar to the Windows game "Minesweeper".
6.5.5. CircusLinux
This is an old Atari game clone.

With Shift-Alt-Right you can "send" the game to the second virtual desktop, which does not have a panel, so the screen fits better.
Also, use Alt and the stylus to shift the window title bar out of the screen.
Then you have all the game screen within the real screen.
6.5.6. Slash'EM
A Rogue-like game.
6.5.7. Digger
Digger is a simple game which has been ported from one of he early 8bit home computers and early PCs.
6.6. Puzzle Collection
This is a collection of many small puzzle games.

Links to further information:

Portable Puzzle Collection manuals
6.7. Other
6.7.1. Calculator
This is the program "Galculator", which provides a calculator with a standard and a scientific interface.

By default, it starts in fullscreen mode with the scientific interface.
In order to switch to the basic (simple calculator) mode, use the options in the "View" menu.

In fullscreen mode, it is even quite convenient to operate the calculator with the fingers on the touchscreen.

Links to further information:

Galculator manual
Galculator homepage
6.7.2. IrDA file send/rceive
This little program allows you to exchange single files with other computers or a mobile phone using the OBEX file transfer standard.
6.7.3. Midnight Commander
Midnight commander, in short "mc", is a two-pane file manager running on the Linux console.
It is a clone of the famous MS-DOS file manager "Norton commander".

People knowing norton commander will instantly feel familiar with the interface. Usage is very similar as Norton commander.

Norton commander can be used using keyboard shortcuts or using the touchscreen / mouse.

There a speciality to mention regarding keyboard usage:

The F keys, which are used for frequent features of mc, are emulated not using the weeXpc-wide F key emulation with Fn-Shift-Number, but by first pressing Cancel and then the number (not holding Cancel down while pressing the number key).

E.g. for leaving mc:
Esc, then 0, then Enter.

Links to further information:

Midnight commander FAQ
Midnight commander manual
Midnight commander homepage
6.7.4. Editor (simple)
Leafpad is a simple geaphical text editor with the standard features of a text editor.
Similar to "Notepad" on MS Windows systems.
6.7.5. Editor for programmers
"medit" is a powerful editor with syntax highlighting, parentheses matching, line numbering, mulit-tabbing etc.
6.7.6. ROX-Filer
ROX is a graphical file manager. It does not have the two-pane window layout as many other file manager, but rather one window showing the contents of one directory.
If you need a second pane for moving or copying files, simply open another window.

Clicking the icons "Documents", "USB", "CF-Card", "SD-Card" and "Harddisk" (only models 3x00) on the desktop also opens ROX filer windows. You can place any directory on the desktop by gragging it from a ROX window to the desktop.

Please remember that you are root on the weeXpc, that means, you can manipulate everything, even delete the most imprtant system files.
So please be careful and rather only open Documents directories in ROX rather than basic system directories.
When browsing and exploring the file system, be careful not to touch anything which you are not familiar with.

Hint for keyboard users:
The context menu for marked items is accessable with the Backslash key (Fn-F).

Links to further information:

ROX homepage
6.7.7. X Virtual Keyboard
This opens a virtual keyboard on the screen, which you can use for text entry when using the weeXpc in portrait (PDA) mode.

When you do this frequently, you can also place the virtual keyboard applet into the panel by starting "X Virtual Keyboard" not from "Other", but from "Utilities" / "Panel" in the X menu.
6.7.8. XClock
A simple clock.
6.7.9. XSMSsend
XSMSsend is a small tool for sending an SMS using a mobile phone which is placed in front of the IR port of the weeXpc.

XSMSsend uses "kammu" (from the kdepimpi package) for phone access.
Long SMSs are split up into several SMSs, each having not more than 160 characters.
Special characters (currently German Umlauts) are converted to 7bit ASCII characters ("US-ASCII"), in order to keep maximum compatibility with phones.

Don't forget to enable the IrDA port of your phone before sending the SMS.
6.7.10. Linux Terminal
"mrxvt" is a terminal (also called console or shell window), with the ability to have multible tabbed console windows in one mrxvt window (hence the "m" in mrxvt).
3 terminal tabs are preconfigured, you can open more by clicking the "new tab" icon in the upper right area. Also, closing tabs and navigating throught tabs is possible with these icons.

Keyboard handling:

Shift-CursorRight / Shift-CursorLeft cycles through the open terminals.
Ctrl-Shift-CursorRight / Ctrl-Shift-CursorLeft moves a tab to the right or left.
Ctrl-Shift-N opens a new tab.
Ctrl-Shitf-W closes the current tab.
Ctrl-Shift-M toggles the menu bar. In the menu you will find some more options.
6.7.11. DOSBox
DOSBox is a DOS emulator.
It is able to run a lot of MS-DOS applications, including many of the famous programs for the Hewlett Packard 200LX palmtop.

In order to use DOSBox, copy everything you want to use under DOSBox into the directory /home/root/Documents/dosbox/c
DOSBox will mount that directory as its drive C:, so everything in that directory is available to DOSBox.
For security reasons, DOSBox cannot access the entire weeXpc file system by default.

You can find a lot of useful DOS applications which are written for or running on the HP 200LX palmtops on
http://www.hp200lx.net in the S.U.P.E.R. archive.
For programs which have been written especially for the HP 200LX, i.e using the PAL libraries, you need a palmtop emulator, such as Palrun.

If you need DOSBox to run only one specific DOS program, you can enter its call into the [autoexec] section of /usr/share/dosbox/dosbox.conf so it is started automatically everytime you start DOSBox.

DOSBox usage hints:

With the command "exit" you can quit DOSBox.
Alt-Enter toggles fullscreen mode.
Sound is not available in DOSBox.
Since DOSBox is an emulator, i.e. it interprets the instructions of DOS programs, translates them and forwards them to the Linux OS, DOS applications do not run very fast in DOSBox.
How fast a program runs heavily depends on the program itself (hardware access, graphics, CPU requirements etc.). So simply try everything you want.

DOSBox still has problems synchronizing its internal time with the weeXpc time, so please be aware that the DOSBox internal time can be different from the actual time.
6.7.11.1. Key mapping
DOSBox has been developed with a standard US 101 key keyboard in mind and is not flexible enough to adapt to the partially much different key codes and keyboard layout of the weeXpc.

Using a sophisticated keymapping scheme, stored in /usr/share/dosbox/mapper.txt, it is possible to use almost all keys as they are intended to be used, with some exceptions:


=   [Fn] [E]
+   [Shift] [Fn] [E]
Explanation : on a US keyboard, when you click on [Shift] with [=] you will obtain a [+].
Similar to the above:

[   [Fn] [T]
{   [Shift] [Fn] [T]

]   [Fn] [Y]
}   [Shift] [Fn] [Y]

\   [Fn] [F]
|   [Shift] [Fn] [F]

;   [Fn] [G]
:   [Shift] [Fn] [G]

Please take care you press first Shift, then add Fn, then the character. If you press Fn-Shift-Character instead (wrong order), you will not get the desired character.

[Fn] [Ctrl] [1] : Gives the keyboard mapper (use it only when you know what you are doing!)
[Fn] [Ctrl] [Backspace] : Shutdown dosbox
6.7.12. weeXpc Manual
This is a shortcut to the weeXpc manual which is installed on the weeXpc.
It is meant as an offline reference.
In case you have Internet access, please always refer to the latest version of the manual under
http://www.hermocom.com/en/services/weexpc/manual

From there, you can also download the latest manual version in NCD (Notecase) format and put it on your weeXpc under /home/root/Documents/Notecase/weexpc_manual.ncd, replacing the older version of the manual.
6.8. System Tools
This directory in the X menu provides configuration programs and system helpers.
6.8.1. Date & Time
Here you can set the system time and date.
The dialogs will guide you through the procedure.
In order to grant system stability, a reboot is required after setting time and date. Hence, please save all open files and close all popen applications when using "Date & Time".

"Date & Time" is able to set the date and time either over the Internet, i.e. it calls an NTP server and requests the exact current time and date, or manually using a familiar dialog.
Also please make sure to choose the correct time zone for your location.

Of course, setting time and date via the Internet needs an active Internet connection.
6.8.2. Input Config
Here you can configure some stylus behavior and the applications called via the applications keys ("Shortcut keys").

Be sure to prepend "wasc" to the application names in the "Shortcut keys" tab, as you can see it when viewing the preconfigured application key functions.
If you don't do it, the programs will load, but the hourglass will not be displayed, and there will be no check for already open instances of the same program, so it may happen that you start a program twice when pressing a button twice or when you forgot that the program is already open and you press the application button once more.
6.8.3. Lan & Wifi
Here you can set the parapeters for network connections using LAN or WLAN Compact Flash cards.
If you choose "wireless" as the network type, a third tab "Wireless" appears. Be sure to also fill that one with the needed information.

In the "Network Profiles" tab you can define profiles which you can later choose between using the XCardScheme application (the PCMCIA card icon in the panel).
This makes sense if you use the weeXpc in different LAN/WLAN environments which require different settings, e.g. at home and in the office. You can then use the "default" scheme for the home configuration and create a new profile "Office" with the appropriate settings.
6.8.4. Light & Power
This program allows you to set the power savings behavior of the weeXpc (screen blanking and suspend settings).
It is selfexplanatory and doesn't need any further description here.

Remember that there is also the screen blanker applet in the panel which allows to disable suspend / screen blanking on the fly or to blank the screen manually.
6.8.5. PPP Modem
Here you can configure dialup network accounts, i.e for modem connections or connections to cellular networks using mobile phones.

"Acount" tab:
1. Define an account name. It must be unique and must not contain spaces or special charaters.
2. Then enter your username and password for the connection and the phone number to be dialed.
3. Choose the port which the connection shall be established over. IrDA is built into the Zaurus. Serial and Bluetooth need additional hardware (an USB to serial adapter, an USB modem or a bluetooth CF card or Bluetooth USB interface).

"Modem" tab:
Usually, let "Device" as it is.
"Initstring" can be ATZ in most cases. But you may need special init strings for some modems, networks or especially for mobile phones.
"Speed": Try 115200 baud first. If your hardware is not compatible with that setting, look up in the hardware manual which setting is appropriate. A safe choice, which works in most cases, is 9600 baud, but it is slow.
"Hardware flow control" makes sense for modems, but not for IrDA or Bluetooth connections.
"Time out" can be left untouched and only increased in case there are problems establishing the connection.
"BT DUN" is only relevant for Bluetooth connections. Use the "Search" button to list the DUNs (hardware addresses) of available devices. If more than one device is in the reception range, more than one DUN may be shown. It may be difficult to choose the correct DUN because it is not obvious which DUN is the correct one of your device. In order to determine the correct one, you can either open a terminal and enter the command "hcitool scan". This will list the available DUNs along with the device names. Or you go with the weeXpc and your Bluetooth device to another location where no other device is available and repeat the "Search" until only one DUN is available. This must be yours.
"Demand dialing": Here you can set if you want to manually connect / disconnect or if this should be done automatically.

"Network" tab:
On dialup connections, usually the IP addresses are given by a DHCP server, so there is no field to enter an IP address here. However, you can choose to auto-detect or manually set a Standard Gateway and the DNS servers. Normally this should be set to "Auto-detect". But in rare cases it can be necesary to set that manually.

Once a dialup profile is configured, you can use it and dial up using the "PPP Dialer" from the "Interntet" section in the X menu.
6.8.6. Package Manager
This is the grapical software package manager where you can install new software, look for updates, and remove installed software.
Please have a look at the Maintenance section above in order to read details about it.
6.8.7. Recalibrate Touchscreen
Choosing this item, you will be prompted to reboot and during the reboot, te touchscreen calibration will be performed.
A black screen is shown with crosshairs on varying positions which you are asked to tap on as accurately as possible.

Recalibrating the touchscreen may be necessary from time to time when the pointer and the stylus action go out of track.
6.8.8. USB Config
In this configuration dialog, you can configure the function of the USB port in client mode.
Remember: It is possible to connect client devices to the USB port, such as mouse, storage devices etc. This is calls USB host mode from the weeXpc point of view. Nothing to configiure here, just use the USB host adapter.

What you configure here is the USB port when it is in client mode, from the weeXpc point of view, i.e. the weeXpc is the client to another USB host, e.g. your PC.
So, you can configure here, what the function of the weeXpc is when connected to a PC:

Details about the USB client modes and their configuration can be found above in the Maintenance section under "USB client".
6.8.9. XCardscheme
Here you can start the XCardscheme program, which is also launchable from the panel and hence described above under Panel applets.
6.8.10. XSambaConf
XSambaConf provides a simple interface to control the behavior of the Samba server on the weeXpc.
The Samba server is responsible for sharing ressources (directories etc.) with other computers.

More about this in the Samba section above.
6.8.11. XScreenshot
With this program it is possible to make screenshots.
This is also available as an (optional) panel applet, and hence described above.

Here you can start the program directly. This is useful if you just want to make one screenshot or if you don't want the XScreeshot panel icon to be visible on the screenshot.

If you plan to make several screenshots and if it does not matter if the screenshots contain the panel icon, you can also start the "XScreenshot applet", see below. It is in the Utilities / Panel section of the X menu.
6.8.12. weeXpc Backup
This tool creates backups of either only the Documents directory or of the entire weeXpc system.

Using the weeXpc recovery DVD, it is possible to restore a system state backup up with this tool.

Please refer to the Backup section above for further information.
6.9. Utilities / Panel
6.9.1. X Virtual Keyboard
This activates the X Virtual keyboard applet.
The applet will be active until X or the entire system is restarted.
6.9.2. XScreenshot applet
This starts the XScreenshot applet.
The applet will be active until X or the entire system is restarted.
6.9.3. Restart Battery status applet
In case the battery status applet behaves incorrectly or has vanished, use this menu entry to restart the applet.
6.9.4. Restart Screen blanker applet
In case the screen blanker applet behaves incorrectly or has vanished, use this menu entry to restart the applet.
7. Troubleshooting
7.1. When GUI behaves incorrectly: Restart X
If there are problem which are related to the Graphical user interface, or to running applications, restarting the X11 system (i.e. the windowing system of the weeXpc) may help. A total system restart is not needed in most cases.

Make sure, before exiting X, that you have saved all open files and closed all running applications!

Then restart X using the item "Exit X" in the X menu. This will shut down X11 and you will find yourself on a Linux text console.
In order to restart X from that console, type "startx" (without the quotes) and press enter.
7.2. When system behaves incorrectly: Reboot weeXpc
If basic operating systems functions don't seem to work correctly, a total system reboot may be necessary.

You can reboot the entire system by either choosing "Reboot" from the X menu, or by entering the command "reboot" into a console.

Make sure, before rebooting, that you have saved all open files and closed all running applications!
7.2.1. Warnings during reboot
During reboot, the Linux system shows some warnings.
These are usually nothing to worry about. Here are some of the known and harmless warnings during bootup:

FAT: bogus logical sector size ...

jffs2_scan_inode_node(): CRC failed...

cramfs: wrong magic

Warning: unable to open initial console

chmod : /tmp: no such file or directory
7.3. In case of a total system crash:
It can happen that the entire weeXpc system locks up so that it does not react to any user input anymore.
In such cases you may need to use the hardware reset button. Please note that using that reset button does not wipe out the contents of the internal flash memory and the hard drive. The seoftware setup and all saved data will survive such a reset. However, before doing a full hardware reset, you should try to shutdown and restart the system cleanly in order to avoid possible problems with the file systems.

There are some things you can try to revitalize the system without doing a full reset. No matter if the weeXpc is switched on and crashed, or if it is switched off and cannot be switched on because it has crashed, please first try the following procedures:

First, please wait about 30 seconds.
Then hit the On/Off button firmly for about one second.
Then wait again 30 seconds and hit the On/Off button once more.

Press the "Menu" button and try to activate the menu.
Navigate to "Other" and then "Linux Terminal". This should open a console. Enter "reboot" here to reboot the weeXpc.

Press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. This should shut down X11 and bring you to the console mode. Here you can enter the command "reboot" to reboot the weeXpc.

In case you cannot make the unit switch on, please make sure the battery switch is in "locked" position (see Zaurus manual), connect it to the AC power adapter and wait for 10 minutes. Then please try again to switch it on.

If all that did not help, please unlock the battery compartment cover (see Zaurus manual), remove the battery compartment cover and push the reset button using the stylus (the Zaurus manual describes in detail how to do that).
Once you closed the battery compartment again and switched the switch back to "locked" position, the weeXpc will reboot.
Please observe the boot process and if there are any errors, please contact hermocom support.

Also, if you cannot revitalize the Zaurus at all, not even using the Reset button, please contact hermocom support.
7.4. When the pointer is out of track: Recalibrate touchscreen
Sometimes it may be necessary to recalibrate the touchscreen when the pointerdoes not trigger reactions in the correct position on the screen when hitting the screen with the stylus.

When weeXpc is active and you see the panel with the "X" menu on the
right side. Here is described how to reach the necessary menu item without using the stylus:

Use the "Menu" button (below the space key) to activate the menu, use
the cursor keys to navigate to "System Tools" (right arrow to dive into
that menu), then "Recalibrate Touchscreen". This will need a reboot.

Before confirming the reboot, please make sure you closed every application and saved open files.
Most applications can be closed using Ctrl-Q, some need Ctrl-W. Alt-Tab cycles through the open applications.
With the Alt key, you can activate the menu of most applications, then use the cursor keys to navigate through the menu.

This will trigger a reboot and during the reboot you will be asked to hit some crosshairs to calibrate the screen.
7.5. Applications need a lot of time to start
This is a highly subjective thing.
On weeXpc, the more complex applicatoins simply need some time to start.
30 sec or a minute are not uncommon.
OpenOffice is the applicatoin which needs most time: several minutes are needed to start it.
7.6. The system performance decreases during usage
On the Zaurus SL-C1000, there is no swap space. Meaning, that the available RAM memory is limited to the physical memory size of 64MB.
This makes it impossible to run a lot of programs simultanously.
As a rule of thumb, try not to have more than three applications open.
That value of course varies with the complexity of started applications.

If too many applicatoins are open, the system may get extremely slow or even crash without a warning.


On the Sl-C3x00, there are 128MB of swap space available, increasing the amount of available RAM from the physical 64MB to 192 MB in total.
Since physical RAM is much faster than swap space, the system will get slower once swap has to be used by the system.

That means for example:

If you open four programs, the first three may run as fast as usual.
The fourth will take some more time to start and then run fast as well, because it is loaded into physical RAM. The first one may be swapped out by the system to hard disk.
So now you can work conveniently with applicatoins 2-4, reactivating 1 may take some more time because it must be reloaded from swap (which is in most cases still faster than closing and reopening the application).
7.7. Hitting the "Menu" key does not raise the X menu or raises it with a long delay
Occasionally the system has problems with that function.
When hitting the "Menu" key, the X menu comes up only after some seconds or even after half a minute.
The reason for that problem is unknown yet.
The Menu key behaves correctly again after a reboot.
In the meantime, if you don't want to reboot yet, you can click the "X" symbol in the panel instead, which raises the X menu instantly.
7.8. When calling hermocom support
If you have purchased the PRO version of weeXpc,
hermocom support will help you in case you are stuck and don't know how to proceed, if your problem has to do with the weeXpc preinstalled software.

Here you can find contact information:
http://www.hermocom.com/en/contact

Simple support requests or support requests which are covered by warranty are processed free of charge.

For processing of other support requests we may charge our hourly consulting fee:
http://www.hermocom.com/en/services

In case your support request is subject of charging, we will inform you prior to processing the request and let you decide how to proceed.

In any case, when calling hermocom support, please email us information about your weeXpc system.
weeXpc 1.5 and above includes a program which prepares a file "sysinfo.tgz" to be mailed to us which includes valuable information about your weeXpc system state.
In order to generte that package, Please execute the "Prepare Sysinfo" program which you can find in the "System Tools" menu, or execute the command "sysinfo" in a terminal.
This will generate the file /home/root/Documents/sysinfo.tgz. Please attach this file to an email to hermocom support (address see link above).

This file does not contain any private data of yours. It only contains weeXpc-specific status and system information so we have a chance to diagnose your problem without too many questions back and forth.
If you want to look inside the sysinfo.tgz file prior to sending it to us, you can do so easily by either unpacking it in a terminal (using the commands given below) or by opening it with Winzip on a Windows PC.

sysinfo.tgz analysis on the weeXpc:

mkdir -p /home/root/Documents/temp
cd /home/root/Documents/temp
tar xzvf ../sysinfo.tgz

Now you can browse the contents of sysinfo.tgz using commands like find, ls, cat, less etc.
8. Technical details
8.1. Hardware
8.1.1. Sharp Zaurus
The weeXpc is based on a Sharp Zaurus PDA of the SL-C series. Currently the models SL-C3100 and SL-C3200 are supported.
Specifications:

CPU Intel XScale PXA270 416MHz
64MB SDRAM
128MB NAND Flash
640x480 VGA Color TFT touchscreen, rotatable
QWERTY keyboard
SD slot (incompatible with SDHC or SDIO)
CF slot
IrDA interface
USB host and client interface ("USB on the go")
Internal hard disk 6GB (only SL-C3x00)
8.2. Software
8.2.1. pdaXrom
weeXpc is based on pdaXrom version 1.1.0beta3.
It uses the Linux kernel 2.4.20.

pdaXrom (www.pdaxrom.org) is a Linux and X11 based ROM for Sharp Zaurus PDAs.

The ROM which is delivered with a new Sharp Zaurus is not based on X11, but on QTopia by Trolltech.
QTopia is a good platform for PDAs, because it is optimized for small screens and stylus usage.

However, pdaXrom, and thus weeXpc, is much more capable. For example, the range of software available for X11 is much broader than for QTopia.
Since most Linux PCs use X11 as their graphical user interface, X11 can be considered a standard in the PC world.
Also, X11 has better overall performance than QTopia.
8.2.2. hermocom development
A SHARP Zaurus with pdaXrom is very powerful. However, it needs a lot of tweaking, bugfixing and configurations, which many people don't have the time for to do because they want to work with their PDA, and not maintain o configure it all the time.

This is probably the most important reason why the SHARP Zaurus platform never reached a broad user base.

With weeXpc, we want to offer a ready-made software platform which does not need a lot of tweaking an configuration before the user can begin to work with it.

In order to achieve this goal, we took pdaXrom as it is offered for Sharp Zaurus PDAs, modified it heavily with approximately 1.000 adaption steps, eveluated and chose the most useful software, preconfigured everything, compiled new software packages, and wrote this manual.
9. FAQ
9.1. How do I connect the weeXpc to the Internet?
There are basically two groups of ways:

Via network:
Using a LAN or WLAN Compact Flash card, you can connect the weeXpc to the Internet, usually via an internet router (Hotspot, DSL or cable router, or LAN/WAN router in a company).
How to configure such a connection is described in the LAN & Wifi setup description.

Via dialup:
You can use a modem or a mobile phone, connected via USB, USB to serial adapter, IrDA or Bluetooth, or a compact flash modem, to connect to cellular or POTS telephone networks.
Use the PPP Modem setup application for that.
9.2. How to recover from a total desaster?
You get a recovery DVD with weeXpc. Also, there will be a backup solution which generates substitute files for the recovery DVD files containing the state of the weeXpc when you made the backup.

So you can either return to the original state using the recovery DVD,
or you can revert to a backed up state using the recovery DVD and the substitute files from the backup.

See the section "System backups" and "Recovery of the original weeXpc state or of a system backup" of this manual.

However, when handled correctly and according to the rules given in this manual, the weeXpc is an extremely stable system which may never need any recovery.
But of course it is always recommended to create backups frequently.
9.3. Do you have recommendations for literature about Linux for beginners?
There are some good online ressources.

For specific problems, it is always good to use google to search for e.g. error messages or for the goal you want to reach.

In order to learn the basics about Linux, the console and X11, here is a collection of links to valuable ressources:

Console tutorial:
http://www.math.mcgill.ca/services/linux_basics.php

Linux basics:
http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/toc.html

X11 basics (the graphical user interface):
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/UnixAndC/Unix/XWindows.html
9.4. Links and hints for advanced users
Experienced users who want to change the configuration by themselves may like to know what software weeXpc is based on and how to configure these components "manually".

The panel, the applets etc. are based on Matchbox:
http://projects.o-hand.com/matchbox/

The window manager used in weeXpc is Openbox:
http://icculus.org/openbox/about.php

Ass the desktop and graphical file manager, Rox is used:
http://rox.sourceforge.net/desktop/static.html


Most configuration files are stored in /etc, as on every standard Linux system.

Some important hints:

Keymapping:
The basic keymapping file is
/etc/X11/kb/akita.xmodmap
The codes in akita.xmodmap for the application keys "Calendar", "Address" etc. ("XF86LaunchA" etc.) are defined in
/etc/xdg/openbox/rc.xml

The X menu:
The menu is constructed from the ".desktop" files in /usr/share/applications
If you want to change the names of applications, remove or add entries etc., you can do that by modifying / adding / removing such .desktop files. The tree structure of the menu is constructed using the categories given in each .desktop file.

The panel applets:
If you like to remove some unused panel applets, add your own ones or change their order on the panel, you can do this by editing the file ~/.matchbox/mbdock.session.weexpc
This file is the "default" panel configuration which is restored by the startx script each time the X system is started.
9.5. Feeds with more weeXpc compatible software packages
There are a lot of ressources on the Internet which offer software packages for the Sharp Zaurus.
Please note that most of these ressources offer packages which are not compatible with weeXpc, but with the original Sharp ROM or Cacko ROM.

However, you may use packages from repositories (also called "feeds") which offer packages compatible with pdaXrom 1.1.0beta3.

Here is a list of some of the most important feeds:

http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/beta3/feed/
http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/feed/beta3/custom/
http://matrixmen.free.fr/zaurus/pdaxrom/oesf/feed/

Please note that after installing software from pdaXrom feeds, the new applications are not integrated entirely into the weeXpc environment.
Some automatic user interface enhancements, such as the hourglass window, automatic window maximisation on startup etc. are not done.
This is what the "wasc" script is responsible for.
See section "Configuring wasc" of this manual.
9.6. Why is an SD card needed for weeXpc on an SL-C1000? Why must it be inserted permanently?
The other Zaurus models have an internal hard disk, which is used to hold most of the weeXpc system. The Zaurus SL-C1000 does not have such a hard disk. But weeXpc needs a lot of disk space for applications and for a swap partition (this is an enhancement to system RAM, using disk space).
Hence weeXpc needs some additional space on the SL-C1000, which is supplied by the SD card.

Since the swap partition (which is used as RAM by the system and hence must be available permanently) is located on the SD card, the SD card must be inserted all the time.
Removing the SD card while weeXpc is running would most probably crash weeXpc. Imagine you pull out one of the RAM modules of your PC while the system is running! It would instantly crash.

Rebooting weeXpc withotu the SD card plugged in is possible, though. All applications and libraries installed on the SD card will not be available after this boot, also no swap space will be available, resulting in worse performance of the system and no ability to run a lot of programs simultanously (trying to do so may result in a system crash).

Inserting the SD again is not enough. The system must be rebooted with the SD card inserted in order to make everything work again.
9.7. Can weeXpc be installed from an SD card?
No. The installation routine of weeXpc is hardcoded to use a CF card. This has good reasons.
For example, on the SL-C1000 the SD slot is occupied for a part of the installation process by the weeXpc SD card.
And, for installtion on an SL-C3200, at least 2GB of card space is needed. But the emergency Linux environment, which is used for running the weeXpc installation script, cannot handle SD cards larger than 1GB.
So installing from a CF card is the only feasible way to install weeXpc.
10. weeXpc version history
10.1. 1.3 (Zaurus SL-C3200 only)
weeXpc 1.3 was a testing version sent to only very few people.
It should not be around anymore, as all people who had this version were asked to update to version 1.4 and 1.5.
10.2. 1.4 (Zaurus SL-C3100, SL-C3200 only)
weeXpc 1.4 was the first official release.


Changes compared to weeXpc 1.3:

- new zgcc developer image is installed (slightly more header files
  etc included)

- new file /etc/weexpcupdatehistory is created. It will contain information
  about installed system updates
  
- feed for the package manager chaned from "weeXpc" to "weeXpc3x00"
  on hermocom server

- updated xscreenshot utility

- new DOSBox 0.70 installed

- Dosbox C: drive path was missing, created now (/home/root/Documents/dosbox/c)

- Some System settings tools changed (USB function, Date and time dialog,
  inputconfig) mainly to prevent dangerous changes in these tools
  
- new weexpc_backup.sh backup script (don't care about this: when doing the
  1.4-1.5 update there will be a better backup tool!)
  
- new Notecase 1.5.0 installed (don't care - update to 1.5 installs 1.5.2!)

- xpdf removed due to frequent problems with fonts

- updated smplayer to version 0.2.28

- updated galculator to version 1.2.5.2

- new wasc (weeXpc application startup control) v 1.2.0 (update to weeXpc 1.5
  will contain a better one, 1.2.0 is still a bit buggy)
  installed with a great helper tool "wmtrl", which allows wasc to manipulate
  window sizes etc.
  
- added a license file to the directory where the wikipedia files reside
  (this is necessary by law)
  
- new Sylpheed Windows version 2.3.1

- new keyboard mapping file: the old one was buggy and did not allow the Zaurus
  to switch off the screen backlight when closing the screen!
  
- new editor "medit", especially interesting for programmers

- new program "dia", a diagram editor

- new program "planner" for project managermant on gantt charts basis

- diabled splash screen of stream tuner
10.3. 1.5 (Zaurus SL-C3100. SL-C3200 only)
Changes compared to weeXpc 1.4:

- Most important change: "Documents" and "Windows_Apps" are not on SD
  card anymore but on internal hard drive. For reasons see text below these
  release notes.

- Hence /home/root/Documents now points to /mnt/ide3/Documents instead
  of /mnt/card/Documents

- /mnt/ide3 is now additionally shared by Samba

- New wasc (application startup control) script: Much safer and
  powerful, better instance control

- New game "digger"

- "§" character is not on key Fn-5 (was missing in 1.4)

- New tool: weeXpc Backup tool (in "System Tools")

- New tool: "watch" command line utility

- New command line network tools included: ftp, telnet, rcp, rlogin,
  rsh, talk, tftp, whois; better versions of ping and logger

- Portable KDEPIM in WINDOWS_APPS was missing some DLLs. They are
  included now.

- Portable Windows versions "Start..." links removed. Instead the user
  must go into subdirectories and start the EXEs directly. Unfortunately,
  Windows does not seem to support relative links, but the existing links
  were not useful, as they were abeolute ones.

- Notecase in weeXpc and portable version updated to 1.5.2

- New Windows versions (installable) of weeXpc programs: Dia, Planner
  and GTK framework in "Windows_Apps" on weeXpc

- Program names in the X menu have been changed for better readability
  (more generinc names are used, not the real program names anymore)

- New tool: "Prepare Sysinfo" in "System tools": This program collects
  some important data from the weeXpc which should be sent to hermocom in
  case of a support request

- Scripts and README on the recovery DVD changed to handle the new
  documents storage scheme

- When connecting to weeXpc via ssh -X from a remote machine, X11 is not
  attempted to be started anymore (/.bashprofile changed)
  
- New weexpc_manual.ncd in Documents/Notecase

- Some minor changes in system files for stability, data safety and
  better look and feel.

- Added the "script" tool for capturing shell script output
  in a log file.

After updating from 1.4 to 1.5 you may need to reconfigure some applications
to use
/home/root/Documents/.... or /mnt/ide3/Documents/.... (they are equivalent)
instead of /mnt/card/Documents/....
Most applications should handle this change automatically, though.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explanation of the storage scheme change (SD card -> internal hard
drive):



Dear weeXpc users,

the current scheme of data storage on the weeXpc (user data on SD card)
is a bit risky. Data may be lost when the SD card is not handled
correctly, i.e. when it is ejected after not properly unmounting via
card applet, inserted during the weeXpc is switched off etc.)

This is the reason why I sent you the rules sheet or attached the rules
sheet to recent weeXpc 1.4 packages.

Data safety usually is more important than convenience. And since there
simply are a few weak situations where data can be lost (this depends on
the Linux system and its drivers, so I cannot easily change it), I
decided to change the data storage scheme of the weeXpc.

*** weeXpc versions from 1.5 will store all user data on the internal hard
disk and make the data available to a PC over USB. ***

The SD card will not be part of the main system anymore, it can be used
for backup purposes or for data exchange. It is also worth a
consideration if internal saved user data is regularly mirrored to the
SD card, so the user does not lose the convenience of simply unplugging
the SD card from the weeXpc and put it into a PC (think of the card as a
"weeXpc to go"). But mirroring or synchronizing is also a critical task
and has to be set up and testet very well to make it reliable, so please
don't expect this to come within the next few weeks.

The old scheme, i.e. storage of user data ("Documents") and Windows
programs ("Windows_Apps") on the SD card is not supported anymore
by hermocom, since weeXpc version 1.5 came out.
So it is strongly recommended to anyone to update to version 1.5.


Converting to the new scheme is relatively easy. Most
applications don't have to be reconfigured, because the
central data storage path
/home/root/Documents
is not changed. /home/root/Documents currently is a
link to the actual path /mnt/card/Documents. The new link
target path will be /mnt/ide3/Documents (ide3 is the third
and usually largest partition of the internal hard drive which
has been prepared to hold media data and
is accessable from the outside via USB or network).

Basically, converting means:

1. Copying all "Documents" and "Windows_Apps" data to the internal hard
drive 2. Relinking /home/root/Documents to the new location

A few other modifications are necessary, such as an updated backup
script etc.

The weeXpc update script for the update from version 1.4 to version 1.5
does all this for you.

Benefits: - Significantly reduced risk of data loss - faster access to
the data from within the weeXpc

Disadvantages: - Loss of convenience: Instead of unplugging the card
from the weeXpc and plugging it into the PC, the entire weeXpc must be
connected ot the PC now via USB to access the files. However, we may
later release a program or script such as "weexpc_to_go" which mirrors
the data on the internal hard disk to the SD card, so the convenience
is, at least partially, restored.


We are sorry for the inconveniences. Please feel free to contact
hermocom support if you need help or advice.

Best regards,

Daniel Hertrich, hermocom
10.4. 1.6 (Zaurus SL-C3100, SL-C3200 and Zaurus SL-C1000 supported)
Changes compared to weeXpc 1.5:

- Also installable on SHARP Zaurus SL-C1000 which is the cheaper Zaurus model without a hard drive
On SL-C1000 it uses an SD card for storage of user data (Documents), Application_Data (dictionaries etc.) and Windows_Apps (portable Windows applications).
weeXpc 1.6 for SL-C1000 does not have swap space preconfigured.

- weexpc-backup updated to version 2.1.1: Bugfixes and improvements in system backup feature, now compatible with SL-C1000

- Only SL-C3x00: New "Planner" version 0.14.2

- Only SL-C3x00: New package "evolution-data-server_1.8.2" installed, needed for new Planner version

- glib2 updated to version 2.12.4

- Abiword updated to version 2.4.6

- /sbin/fsck.vfat replaced by fixed version for failureless checking of large hard drive partitions

- Only SL-C3x00: mySQL 4.1.23 installed

- "espeak" 1.20 (text to speech engine) with dependence "portaudio" 0.17.1 installed

- CD and SD card now also shared via Samba by default

- Battery applet restart entry in X menu under "Utilities" / "Panel", needed to restart the battery applet when it crashed and disappeared from the panel

- wasc (weeXpc application startup control) updated to versoin 1.3.3: Much improved handling of automatic window maximization and optimized timings

- XSMSsend 1.1.0 installed: Simple tool for writing SMSs and sending them via IrDA port over a mobile phone

- sysinfo updated to version 1.1.0

- Notecase updated to version 1.5.8

- GTK+ version 2.6.2 replaced by fixed version 2.6.2 which adjusts some dialog sizes to Zaurus screen
(relevant for file open / save dialogs of some weeXpc applications)

- Updated manual

- new install scripts on weeXpc DVD-ROM
10.5. 1.7 (Zaurus SL-C3100, SL-C3200 and Zaurus SL-C1000 supported)
Changes compared to weeXpc 1.6:

Some changes from 1.5 to 1.6 have been reversed due to problem in 1.6.
This is the reason why there is no update from 1.6 to 1.7.
1.5 users update to 1.7 directly.
1.6 users have to stick with 1.6 or install 1.7 completely from scratch.

These reversed changes are:

- Planner version 0.13 installed again (1.6 had Planner 0.14.2)

- Package "evolution-data-server_1.8.2" removed (had been needed for new Planner version)

- glib2 2.8.1 installed (1.6 hat it updated to version 2.12.4, which caused problems with some applications)


Other changes in weeXpc 1.7, compared to weeXpc 1.5:

- Notecase and Notecase Portable updated to version 1.6.9

- Manual updated

- sqlite updated and installed to hard drive, not flash (needed for MoneyManagerEx)

- wxWidgets 2.8.6 installed (needed for MoneyManagerEx)

- MoneyManagerEx 0.9.1.0 installed

- Quasar Media Player 0.9 installed

- XMMS and SMPlayer removed (replaced by Quasar)

- gqview updated to version 2.1.5

- Sylpheed updated to 2.4.7


Changes applied only to SL-C1000 in order to make the system equal to the SL-C3200 system:

- SD card now has SWAP space on Zaurus SL-C1000

- rc.various init script enhanced to handle SD card swap space of SL-C1000

- The mb-appled-cards (CF-/SD card applet) does not allow SD card eject anymore in order not to risk system stability when swap is still active on SD card (experienced users know how to handle that manually and safe!)

- Added OpenOffice

- Added zgcc (development image for compiling own applications)

- Added Dia 0.95

- Added gimp 2.3.6

- Added game CircusLinux 1.0.3

- Added game Slashem
10.6. 1.8 (Zaurus SL-C3100, SL-C3200 and Zaurus SL-C1000 supported)
Changes compared to weeXpc 1.7:

- New Notecase version 1.8.4

- New NotecasePortable version 1.8.4

- sqlite moved from hard drive to flash in order to solve problems with the Dictionary application (zbedic)

- OpenOffice setup cleaned in order to solve problem with OpenOffice crash

- New manual

- Slightly increased installation routine on DVD
11. Credits
Credits go to all developers of software components which the weeXpc is based on.

Especially:

The pdaXrom developement team,
   for creating such a versatile and useful base system for the SHARP Zaurus.
   The pdaXrom team will receive donations from the profit of weeXpc sales.
   http://www.pdaxrom.org

Miroslav Rajcic, the author of the Notecase outliner,
   who was and still is extremely cooperative in improving and adapting Notecase.
   hermocom donated a Zaurus PDA to him.
   Have a look at his website. He is working on a Notecase Pro version with some
   interesting additional features: http://www.notecaseproplugins.com/about-ncp

Han-Dat Luc (member "Meanie" on the OESF forums),
   who fixed a lot of bugs in the pdaXrom distribution used as the basis for weeXpc.
   He doesn't want to receive monetary donations. So hermocom is looking for other ways to do him favors.


And all the other developers of opensource components which are used to make the weeXpc as useful as possible as a very mobile Personal Computing solution.
12. Disclaimer
While "weeXpc" is a product of the company hermocom, most software it consists of has not been developed by hermocom but by many different open source software developers.

hermocom cannot be made liable for any damage to hardware or software, loss of user data or harm due to theft of the hardware or software.

The user always saves his / her data on the Zaurus hardware using the weeXpc software or any third party software entirely on his / her own risk.

This document has been created using the NoteCase Pro outliner.

Do you like to support me?

Dear fellow Palmtopper!

If you like, you may reward me for the work I put into this website with a donation.

 

For a donation in US$:

For a donation in €:

Your donation, even if it's just a single USD, will help me to:

  • finance the server that hosts the site
  • justify time I spend with maintaining the site and do not spend with earning money otherwise (wife is watching! ;D)
  • just continue to be motivated :)

Since my company "hermocom" does not exist for many years anymore, I am now spending my spare time and private money for all of this. Thank you very much! 🙂

Yours truly,
Daniel Hertrich